The Guardian's Song
by Shining Zephyr
Summary: *Character death* Full story of "Danny's Cry." Danny has had it with Vlad. After hurling a gut wrenching insult to the billionaire, Vlad's anger is enough to do one thing... kill Danny Fenton.
1. Really, Stop Bothering Me

**I know, I know, TWO stories published in one day?! Are you crazy, Shining?! Well, yes, in a sense... but that's not the point. I felt it was only for that I gave the readers of "Danny's Cry" the whole story to why -le gasp- Danny died and why in his name Vlad Plasmius would kill him. That and I need to get some stuff off of my chest, so... we're all good. Please note: NOT A HAPPY STORY! Angst and tragedy do NOT go in tandem with flower petals and romance. Not a happy story. Now that you all know that, let's get this baby started...**

**I DON'T OWN DANNY PHANTOM. HURRAY FOR YOU AND I.**

* * *

**_SUMMARY: _**Danny has had it with Vlad's games and puzzles. He wants to finish off his hated archenemy for all time. How? By hurling one last insult, of course. The thing he said, though, makes Vlad Masters boil to the point that a bitter fight and possible death of the one he cares for is the only option... character death. Complete story of "Danny's Cry."

* * *

1. Really, Stop Bothering Me

"I am the Box Ghost!" he yelled.

Danny Phantom sighed, and smacked his head in tired anger. It was only nine o'clock that night and already, he was ready to just fly home and stuff himself under the bed sheets. It had been a long day at school and an even-longer day after school had been let out. Ghosts were threatening him from every direction and multiple angles at various times for the last five hours. How was a hybrid supposed to get his schoolwork done if all he was supposed to be doing was saving the city from the ghosts that constantly attacked?

"Beware! My cardboard square containers shall..."

He didn't even finish his sentence before Danny lazily opened up a Fenton Thermos and sucked up the ghost into the seeming soup container. "Shut up, please," he told him.

With this comment, he proceeded to fly home to the Fenton Works building on the east side of town and into his room, where he morphed back into his teenage alter-ego, Danny Fenton. Over the past couple of days, he had gotten no more than five hours of sleep for every twelve ghosts he had managed to suck _back_ into the thermos and put them right back into the Ghost Zone. The boy flopped down on his bed and sighed wearily, almost instantaneously falling asleep.

The thermos shook. "Beware!" a muffled voice yelled.

"And quiet to you, too," he grumbled, winging his feet over the side and trekking downstairs to the lab. He punched in a code on the keypad, allowing the doors to the portal open. Danny unscrewed the cap and thrust the thermos forward, giving his cardboard enemy a scream, a slam of the door, and a walk back upstairs to the living room.

The phone rang. He glared at it and picked it up, mumbling a near-inaudible, "Hello?"

_"Why, Daniel, if you sound this tired so early in the evening, you should be in bed,"_ a male sinister voice laughed over the other end.

Danny clenched up as much as an exhausted half-ghost could. "I'm not in the mood, Vlad. What do you want?"

A snort was heard. _"Only your company and to defeat you. I was wondering if I could have a moment with you in the office tomorrow. Not as half-ghosts, but as actual human beings."_

"Over my dead body," he replied, trying to sound confident.

Another laugh. _"That's the whole point of it, little badger."_

Danny gripped the phone so tightly, his knuckles began to turn white. "Don't you _ever_ call me that," he growled, his eyes flashing to an emerald green.

_"Oh, fudge to that remark, Daniel, you know I will never cease in my little name game for you,"_ Vlad chuckled mockingly, sensing the boy's anger over the phone. _"As usual, you're letting your emotions get the best of you, and once again, I will give you the opportunity to join me."_

"Really, _stop bothering me!"_ Danny finally screamed into the phone and slammed down the receiver. He slumped down onto the floor and sat there, taking in deep breaths of air, trying to calm himself. Vlad Masters could really get on your nerves, but when it seemed like he knew every single aspect of your daily life, it was just too much to handle without screaming your lungs out at him over the phone.

He didn't move from that position for quite a long time.

* * *

He stared at the dead line in his home, his eyes now a shade of blood red. How dare he drop the call like that and scream at him in that manner! The boy needed to learn some respect for his elders, and he was going to teach it to him in any way he thought suitable for the teenage ghost child.

Vladimir Masters was not one for losing his temper, but this was a bit much for the forty year old billionaire mayor of Amity Park to go through. Danny was rare to yell at the older man, and tonight was definitely one of those nights he probably shouldn't have bothered him. No matter. Things always went his way, considering he was a halfa. Possession of the mind and body- that always solved his problems in life. But with young Daniel... no, he would have to do more than that. Something more... forceful, to say the least.

He set the phone down on the receiver and swirled around in his chair, glancing over at the Danny Phantom doll the market had finally began to put out a couple of weeks ago. Why they had decided to make a plushy of the foolish boy, he would never know, but at least it calmed his nerves. Staring into the green eyes, scheming where he would strike next in the boy's heart- it all seemed to come together at unknown times.

He smiled evilly, scratching his cat Maddie behind the ears. All would come in due time, even if he had to go back into the Zone and convince them to try and weaken him again.

* * *

**So... I don't know if this is angsty enough yet. Probably not, but oh well. I'm glad with the way this first came out. -puts out platter of cookies- You know the drill, I hope. Review, get the cookie, I get your name, it goes on the cookie list. Thank you all!**


	2. Just Another Day

**It's not angsty enough. -growls softly-**

_Or tragic. Shining, the genre specifically said "tragedy."_

**I'm working on it! -grumbles under her breath- Stupid muse.**

**Thanks for reviewing **NarutoxxAddict, animegurl088, LG, Devianta, purrbaby101, soring angle, Cj Sutton, fentonfan

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2. Just Another Day

Danny yawned. It had been another night of tossing and turning as Vlad's mocking voice echoed in his dreams. He didn't know what in the world Vlad's plan was to take him and be a different half ghost. As far as he was concerned, the billionaire could go and hide in his office all day long. That would make him really happy.

The boy stumbled out of bed and into the bathroom, climbing into the shower. "Stupid fruit loop..."

* * *

"Morning, Maddie!" Jack Fenton greeted his wife cheerfully, kissing her and putting down his lastest gadget in ghost-hunting technology. It was a long, telescope device that had the capability to capture ghosts in the night sky... and in daylight hours, too. He was quite proud of it and was ready to show it off to his wife and kids.

Madeline Fenton smiled at her husband's affection. "Good morning, Jack. Is the Spectral Scope ready to be used yet?"

He smiled and nodded. "You bet, sweetcakes. I was going to let Danny get first try with it."

A seventeen year old girl walked down the steps and put her backpack down. She had long red hair and purplish eyes. However, she was interested in psychology, not ghost hunting. "Hi, Mom. Morning, Dad," she greeted, grabbing some cereal for herself.

"Hey, Jazz," Jack replied. "How're you doing?"

She sighed. "I have at least four tests today that took me all night to review for, even if I have been studying them all week long. One of them is Psyche, and even thought it's an incredibly hard course, it's well worth getting the credit for."

Jack looked somewhat baffled. Maddie sighed. "I'll explain it later, dear."

Minutes later, a weary Danny Fenton clamored down the steps and into the kitchen, still having remeniscents of last night. Being the student and sister that she is, Jazz hurried over to him. "You all right?" she whispered.

"I wish," he mumbled back, taking a seat at the table. It was the truth. He really felt horrible, like he didn't want to go anywhere or do anything that day. Danny knew he had to go to school, though. He understood that if he didn't, he'd be craving anger and revenge like he craved caffeine.

* * *

The janitor finished sweeping up the broken vase and exited the room, leaving a silently fuming Vlad Masters in his wake. He walked over to his private refridgerator he had and grabbed a regular Mountain Dew, flinging himself into a chair. He was definitely not going to get other ghosts to help him. Ever. Even if it did involve a decent sum of money.

'If Daniel is getting even more powerful with his ice powers... oh, god, why am I worrying myself over that?' he thought angrily. 'Damn, he's getting strong, though. This is _not _what I had in mind. There has got to be another way to get to him.'

He shot a ghost ray at the window this time. The glass shattered all over the floor.

'How can I defeat him once and for all?'

* * *

"I've graded all your essays," Mr. Lancer announced. "Might I remind you all that this was for an exam grade." Some of the students winced. "The topic, as you will recall, was an experience that you had with our fellow ghost resident, Danny Phantom. You describe the experience from your point of you or from the ghost's point of view." He glanced at Danny, who squirmed in his seat. "Mr. Fenton here did such an amazing job, I've sent it to the mayor and gave him an A plus with extra credit."

_The mayor?_ Danny tried not to show dismay on his face. _Vlad_ was going to be reading it?

Crap.

His essay had been titled "Will To Live." He had described one of the times his ghostly half, Vlad Plasmius, nearly killed him. It had been a couple of weeks ago- two, to be exact- and he was still getting nightmares about the ordeal. The fact was, he hadn't even had the guts to tell his two best friends, Sam Manson and Tucker Foley, about it. Somehow, it seemed too painful to recall.

Lunch time was usually crowed and busy, so the trio could talk about Danny's ghost fighting exploits in the open. Today, though, the hybrid wanted to whisper, and neither friend objected to this.

Tucker took a bite out of his sandwich and examined his friend from head to toe. "Dude, you look as if someone clawed and beat you all over the place."

Danny gave him a sour look. "Really? Glad you haven't noticed it for the past two weeks, Tuck. I don't want some sort of analysis from you, got it?"

"So what happened then?" Sam asked quietly.

He bit his lip. Just a few moments ago, he didn't want to remember anything about death. But when Sam asked him in a quiet sort of way...

"Danny?"

The teen told them everything.

* * *

"Mr. Masters?" the aide asked, peeking in the doorway. "There's a piece of mail here from Casper High School."

Vlad sighed and got up from his chair, taking the envelope. He shut the door and opened the note, scanning the paper with royal blue eyes. There was a strange flicker there- hate, anger, pride. The envelope fell to ash in his hand as he sat back and began to read the comments Robert Lancer had wrote on there. It was an essay, perhaps an incredibly well-written essay. There were praises and marks scribbled all over it. Vlad smiled. He must read it and congradulate the one who wrote this.

The name he saw sent a strange feeling down his entire back.

Danny Fenton.

* * *

**Oh, boy.**

_Angst. Huh. An essay. Now I have to know what the guy wrote._

**Reviews are glomped! -puts out tray of muffins- Much love, gang! All reviews shall be answered!**


	3. Will To Live

**Everyone is going to go EMO here.**

_There is a moment of VladDanny "father-son…ness" coming on. IT'S NOT SLASH. Please keep that in mind._

**Thanks for reviewing **Devianta, mutantlover09, Tomed Ceht, purrbaby101, NarutoxxAddict

* * *

3. Will to Live

Vlad's eyes scanned the paper again quickly. Yes… no, wait. How could Daniel have written something so long and so… so detailed? This made him worry somewhat. The boy might've spilled his secrets somewhere, and that was one thing he couldn't afford to have happen. He sat down and crossed his legs into a comfortable position. This might take a while. After all, the thing was around three pages.

And he knew the half ghost hardly did his homework. He was so busy running around as that hero, he didn't even have the ability to go home and do his math. That explained why he was so _bad _in that course. He couldn't even study.

So how did he manage to do an essay about an event involving him?

He sighed and began reading…

* * *

_Will To Live  
By Danny Fenton, English_

_Many people have had experience with the residential ghost kid himself, Danny Phantom. There are mixed and various accounts of what have happened when they were with him. Like if he attacked them, if he helped them, and other various rumors that have more then likely become the urban legends of __Amity_ _Park__. Ironically enough, no one seems to ever try and get into his body and see what it feels like to be treated as a ghost kid. Actually, I know Danny Phantom, and he told me about an incident he had. So, I'm going to give you that story now._

_I flew home one night, having just defeated yet another ghost. The occurrences were becoming more and more common in __Amity_ _Park__, the city I fought to protect. Despite the fact that people considered me as an outsider, an enemy, I was only trying to help them for the good of mankind. Sure, there were those people who didn't want or need my help, but I didn't care. They were in much need right now, and I was going to give them what they needed._

_There were clouds on the horizon as I flew to my home, a house I haunted in the suburbs. Perhaps you've heard of it. The Fentons usually don't notice me when I'm there, so it's nice to go and take refuge in the place that created me. Yes, it's the Fentons' fault for my existence. You can thank them later. As I flew through the skies, the wind seemed to whip my hair harder than usual. I can always tell, because every night, I take the same route over and over again so I can map my course. Amazing how keen my sense was now, only a year later._

_There was a rumble of thunder in the distance, and I picked up speed. This was not a good time to be out. Had I realized that hours earlier, I wouldn't have followed my target, the Box Ghost into the city. And yet, it wasn't just the thunder that was making me wary of my surroundings. There seemed to be another presence following me. I turned around to see who it was, but there was no one in sight. Strange. I turned back around and…_

_BAM._

_A fist met my face, and I went careening out of control towards the earth. As I steadied my fall, I noticed a pair of blood-red, hate-filled looking eyes glaring straight at me. A shiver ran down my spine unlike anything I had ever felt before. My archenemy, Vlad Plasmius, was following me home, and I didn't realize it until I was a quarter-mile away from the building. He seemed to be especially evil tonight, a strange aura around him._

_Now, please don't get me wrong. This man with white fangs, black hair, and billowing white cape, is the ultimate personification of evil. Somehow, he seems to be clung onto the fact that I would be the perfect son for him. I don't know what has gotten into his head, but for some reason, if I don't abide by his wishes, he seems to go into a terrible rage. At least, that's what happens nowadays. It seems as if his one-tracked mind has become, well, really one-tracked. He'll stop at nothing to get what he desires most- me._

_Anyways, he stared at me from where he was floating, showing those pointed vampire teeth of his and grinned like a maniac. "Daniel," he purred, the thunder getting louder. "I wonder whatever are you doing out here at this time of night."_

_"Plasmius," I spat, rubbing my right cheek. It was now throbbing in pain after the blow I had taken just moments before. "What do you want?"_

_He laughed in an eerie sort of way. I know that laugh. It's the one where he has no particular plan in store for me tonight, just a little throw down he loves to push upon whenever he can now. "Oh, I want nothing, my little badger. Merely your company as I take your mother and rule __Amity_ _Park__ for all eternity."_

_I don't know what goes through that head of his, but whatever it is, it really needs to just GO AWAY. Twisted freak thinks my so-called 'mom' is actually Maddie Fenton. Geez. I protect her like she's my mom, but still… "Still hooked on the theory that's she going to marry you? Sorry, Vlad, but that isn't gonna happen."_

_His hand began to glow with pink ecto-energy, only tonight it seemed much redder to me. Maybe my vision was getting blurry, but whatever the case, I could tell he was a little upset. "Oh, pity," he smirked, throwing a ghost ray at me. "I would hate to see her son get torn to bits by the father."_

_FATHER? Oh, god, what was he smoking now? I put up a Ghost-Shield and grinned as Plasmius' red hit green. "Someone's been in the office too long," I teased banteringly._

_"Oh, really?" he inquired, the happy Vlad voice now gone. "And might I ask, why do you hate me so much?"_

_The bantering tone was gone from my voice, as well. "Huh. Let's see. Because you're a fruit loop."_

_And I noticed it. The glare._

_The worst thing that you can possibly do to an evil half-ghost such as Vlad Plasmius is get him upset over the love of his life and her so-called 'son.' Funny, though. The rain was now coming down like a mist- a nice mist to a not-so-nice atmosphere with two combatants facing each other, preparing for what appeared to be World War Three. Plasmius swept his cape back. "I see. So I have no choice tonight, do I, Daniel? I see I am going to have to teach you the lesson of respecting your elders. No matter, though." His right hand, up and ready, began to glow. "But don't worry. It won't be painful."_

_Oh, good._

_"It will be deadly painful."_

_Ah. Shit._

_One moment, we were staring each other down, and the next, we were in each other's faces, hands glowing and eyes staring with the shards of hate seemingly thrown like daggers at one another. He meant business. The rain was no longer a mist- it was a full-blown downpour. I can't even remember how it moved that fast. The storm. It was like the fury of Plasmius- strong and filled with unknown energy. And if he wanted a beat down with the one he loved… he was going to get one._

_I threw my right fist, filled with ecto-energy, which connected with his stomach. He howled in pain and doubled over. My foot connected with his face moments later, and his head was thrown back in the opposite direction of where he was leaning. For good measure, my left fist punched his face again, snapping his head to the right. Somehow, it felt nice to vent my anger out on this man. He had done so many things to me, I couldn't help but simply… well, beat him to a pulp._

_It seemed to be over in an instant. I was breathing heavily, and Plasmius was lying on the ground, seemingly beaten. I gave him a Phantom grin he was accustomed to. "Deadly painful, huh? Was that 'deadly painful,' Vlad?"_

_A flash of fury came through his eyes. "You don't even know deadly, do you, Daniel?"_

_He slowly got up, and I backed away, to give him room to breathe. Here I had thought that I beat Vlad Plasmius and I could fly home. Besides, there was mud getting all over the place now, and trust me, I HATE mud on my nice white boots. I began to walk away when a sudden hand grasped my wrist. I turned around and there was Vlad, a strange smile on his face. "Going somewhere?" he whispered._

_"Yeah. Home."_

_"WRONG ANSWER!"_

_He threw me into a tree with enormous strength, and I hit my head against the trunk. Why didn't I faze through like I usually can? I was so stunned by the man's comeback, I didn't even have time to think. I got up and noticed the man on his feet- painfully on his feet, but he was there. He smiled, blood coming from his mouth. He made no attempt at wiping it away as it spat out of his mouth when he spoke. "You dare do that to me, the one man who actually cares about you? You DARE TRY AND DEFEAT ME?!"_

_"Well, the thought crossed my mind," I replied, standing up slowly. The tree must've done something to my back, because I was not feeling great at all. That was one serious blow to my body. I looked up and saw him licking his lips. Oh, god. Licking the blood off his lips. What was he, a vampire? "Besides, it never hurts to try."_

_He brought his foot up, where it connected with my right cheek, which was already swollen and tender. I screamed in agony and fell to the earth, mud spattering all over where I splashed down. I felt a blow to the stomach and cried out again. He picked me up by the neck and thrust me into the tree. I groaned, tears trickling down. "Had enough yet?" he growled, pulling his fist back._

_I didn't have an answer in context._

_I simply spat mud in his face._

_He closed his eyes and brought his fist as hard as he could into my face. I heard a crack, and then… pain roared through me like a tsunami. I screamed, crying suddenly, and began to struggle incessantly. "Get your… hands off me, you…"_

_Vlad released his grip. "How?"_

_I couldn't feel a thing, except for the blinding pain going through my nose. "Wha?"_

_"How do you manage to stay alive? How do you have the will to live?!" he shouted furiously, preparing for another attack._

_I picked myself up as much as I could. Oh, how I wanted to kill him mercilessly right then and there. Instead, I gave him a simple response. "No matter how much pain I feel, no matter how many times you knock me down, no matter what you do that nearly kills me, I'm going to keep getting back up, Vlad." The blood was pouring out of my nose now._

_"I'm gonna keep living to protect people from the likes of you."_

_I had nothing more to say as I tried to float to the skies. But Vlad was pulling me down and finally got to me. He looked in my eyes, a flame of hatred rising. "Fine. At least let me do this."_

_He kissed me on the cheek and smiled. "Feel better now, Danny?"_

_Oh, my god. It was a nightmare._

_One I will never wake up from._

_I am Danny Phantom._

_That is my story…_

* * *

Vlad was seeing red. He burned the essay to ashes and morphed into Vlad Plasmius. "I see…" he whispered quietly, fazing through the roof. "I see what you have done to my image as a ghost. I see what you think of me now."

There was no happiness in his voice, only white-hot fury.

"Well see what kind of nightmare you'll live through now, Daniel… my ghostly son."

* * *

**OH, MY FREAKIN' GOD! HE KISSED HIM AS A FATHER?! –dies-**

_-looks at Shiny- I don't know if she's REALLY dead, so I'll makes sure she's not. Anyways, what did you think of the essay? Reviews are love to writers! Please do so! Much love, friends._


	4. Danny's Desperation

**-now on the floor, unconscious-**

_Well, Shining is still unconscious from last chapter. So, I'll be taking over these next few chapters._

_Thanks for reviewing_ MutantLover09, Elvenangler17, crocgirl2815, purrbaby101, NarutoxxAddict, dannyphantom92, Devianta, babydragon11

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4. Danny's Desperation

As soon as the school bell rang that day, Danny was the first out of the school, practically pushing his way through the crowds and receiving a couple of annoyed yells from the football players. Sam and Tucker jogged behind him, panting and trying to keep an eye on their friend for as long as they could. The whole thing after Lancer had told him that Vlad was going to read his paper was a total nightmare in class. He couldn't think straight. He'd get weird glances from Sam and Tucker. And he was certain he had failed his pop quiz.

"Dude, wait up!" Tucker huffed, nearly collapsing on the side of the road. "I'm beat!"

Danny shot him an evil look. "Fine! Then you and Sam catch a breather while I go and make sure Vlad isn't plotting some horrible innate death for me!" He shot off again towards the city, urging his legs to go faster.

Sam looked puzzled as she, too, collapsed next to Tucker. "Boy, his essay must've been really descriptive if he's worried about Vlad reading it."

"Great," her friend groaned, rubbing his side. "Now all we got to worry about is Danny's keen ability for saying ironic things. 'Planning some horrible innate death.' Vlad isn't that evil, is he?"

She shrugged. "I don't think so…"

* * *

Danny leapt into the bushes and morphed into Danny Phantom, shooting out of the shrubs and leaves moments later towards the capital building. Something felt wrong about the whole situation with Vlad trying to read his paper about the fight he had with him a few months ago.

What happened after the kiss was an entirely different manner altogether. It only drove him faster to the man he knew as his archenemy…

…Flashback…

_He smiled. "Feel better now, Danny?"_

_Danny wiped his mouth, gagging. He stared at the man who claimed to be his so-called father. "You're sick," he told him, hatred dripping out of his mouth like ooze from a sewer pipe. "How dare you try and treat me like one you care about when you don't even know what goes on in my life."_

_Vlad released his throat and glared down at Danny on the ground, blood pouring from his nose. "How would you even know if I cared about you, Danny? All you ever seem to assume is that I want you as a son. Did you ever take into account the fact that no one can understand you like I can? We're equals, but you still can't see that. No one here in the world is like you or I, half-ghosts shunned by the city we live in. I do understand you."_

_"All you understand is your lust for me being the one boy you want as a part of your family," Danny growled, performing a sweeping kick from under the male halfa. "I DON'T WANT THAT!"_

_Plasmius merely groaned, falling into the mud. Danny got up from the ground and stared at his foe. "Go home, Vlad," he told him softly. "And stay there."_

_He flew up into the night clouds, willingly chancing getting struck by lighting rather than being hurt by the one enemy that made him question his own thoughts…_

_…Flash forwards…_

Danny blew his nose with a tissue he had stuffed into his outfit and blood spurted out alongside the usual things. He groaned and nearly cried out in pain. Oh, god, did that hurt or what. The blow to the face really made him wonder if Vlad truly loved him or not. And that was just something disgusting to think about in general. As he flew more slowly to his destination, he sighed and closed his eyes, going higher into the clouds.

The feeling of scared anger left him as he floated towards the capital, in no mood to hurry along with his duties. He thought about anything and everything that came to mind but Plasmius- that included homework, love, Sam, Tucker, his identity, crap, even_ Skulker_ seemed better than Vlad right about now. With this in mind, he suddenly found himself head-to-concrete with the building. He fell along the side, landing on the rooftop, rubbing his head. Danny groaned and mentally kicked himself for even coming in this direction.

Man, he hated Vlad right now.

Silently, he fazed through the roof and stayed invisible, looking at the room he was in. He sighed. Vlad's office. How the hell did he manage to stay in there all the time? It was down to the bare minimum of materials- pencils, pens, papers… and pictures of Danny? He winced in disgust. 'He _is_ obsessed,' he thought to himself, landing on the floor, making himself visible.

The door to the room opened. Danny spun around. 'I can't afford to get caught in here!' he thought frantically, frozen in horror as the door opened.

Vlad Masters entered the room, his eyes widening at the sight of the ghost teen standing in the middle of the room. "Why, Daniel. Isn't this a lovely surprise? I was just about to go off and find you myself, but you saved me the trouble. I must thank you for that."

"Keep your thanks," the hybrid spat back. "I want to know why you're so damn obsessed with me, Plasmius."

Vlad shut the door and turned back to face Danny, a black ring of light splitting down him. "That's no way to talk to the one who is almost exactly like you!" he hissed, sweeping his cape back with a dramatic flair. "I can snap your neck with one twist of my hand, and you'll be dead on the floor right now."

Danny knew this was true, but this was no time for conversing with a forty year-old, pissed-off male. "Let me get the facts straight, then," he told the fruit loop. "You want me for dead right now all because I nearly beat the crap out of you three weeks ago, and all you can come back with is 'I can snap your neck with one twist of my hand'? Work on the villain lingo, Vlad."

"This is no time for talking," his enemy snarled, shooting a ghost ray at Danny. "I swear, I will make you pay for the humiliation you have caused me this past year. It's because of you that I have become the most hated man in the city."

Danny put up a ghost shield and glared at the older halfa. "Oh, zip it. You want to know why I'm more powerful than you in the future?"

Plasmius' response to that was a fist to Danny's healing face, in which his cheek began swelling again. "You're bipolar!" Danny yelled angrily, shooting a ghostly ice ray at his foe. It missed, and the desk turned to pure crystal.

Plasmius quit shooting. "Oh, I am?" he replied softly.

"The only reason why I haven't killed you yet is because of my one sole desire in life: to have you. You have no reason to live, Daniel. You're only a scrap of human life that can be fed to the dogs. I could mercilessly defeat you right here and now, and I couldn't care less." His eyes shined with hatred. "You are a thorn in my side, and I will make you cease to exist!"

"I do to have a reason to live!" Danny screamed back.

"I have something to protect! I have a way of life that exists for humans and ghosts alike! I love all humans, even if they despise me! I will keep everything safe from people and ghosts like you. I have a reason to live. _You don't,_ Vlad! You never had! Face that fact!"

Plasmius was quiet for a moment. Danny took this chance to faze through the roof and sprint back home. He bolted like nothing he had ever done before, and he hoped he wouldn't have to again. Not with the way he just spoke to Vlad. It pained him so much. He felt angry, depressed, upset that no one but his two best friends, mortal enemy, and sister knew who he was. Why couldn't anyone accept him?

Plasmius stared at where Danny had left. "I see," he told himself. "So that is the way you think of me."

"So be it, Danny Phantom. Death is your only way to go. And _I will make sure of it."_

* * *

_Holy. Crap. That is all I can say. Vlad is sadistic. Reviews are loved. How're we doing? Much love, gang._


	5. Fatal Strike

**Oh, my. Chapter 5 is here. No one spazz out yet. Vlad is sadistic. Okay, start screaming… And to all of you, -THANK YOU** MutantLover09** for pointing this out- this is not slash. It has slight Fatherly!Vlad:Danny themes in it. NO SLASH. That's just plain wrong.**

_-stares blankly- You're back. That wasn't that long._

**Thanks for reviewing** MutantLover09, babydragon11, Devianta, purrbaby101

* * *

5. Fatal Strike

Danny slammed the door to his room and simply flopped on his bed, fear beginning to overpower him like Plasmius using his ghostly abilities to defeat him. It did scare him how Vlad told him what he was worth in his eyes. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Was it a lie? As far as Danny was concerned, _yes._ Yes, it was all a lie to his ears. The man seemed to not care whether he was alive or not, like he did want to kill him.

Kill.

He shuddered. Danny knew that Plasmius could kill him easily. With the proper motive and motivation, he could have probably beaten him to a pulp if he wanted to. But Vlad didn't have the right means to kill him, right? I mean, sure he was just a crazed-up fruit loop and all, but he had twenty plus years of expertise in being a halfa. No that it would matter to him anyways.

He sat up. Fine. He wanted to kill him, then he could. But not after he did one thing.

Danny jumped off the bed, opened the door to his room and walked downstairs. It was time.

* * *

Maddie sat downstairs, fixing a Fenton Bazooka with a pair of rewiring pliers and a screwdriver, amongst the other tools scattered around the place. She sighed and looked at Jack, who was sitting on the couch and watching his wife do what she did best- aid in the fight against ghosts. "I thought that thing had been fixed," Jack offered, watching her work her magic.

She shook her head and sighed, setting down the screwdriver. "I just don't get it. Why is everything we make keep thinking Danny's a ghost? I've been working on this for the past three hours, and still, we have yet to achieve a thing with it."

"Aw, keep working, sweetcakes," Jack soothed, picking up the Jack Fenton action figure and ghost one as well.

_WHAM._

Jack and Maddie's heads whirled to the steps, where a weary and sore Danny Fenton slowly got up and limped out into the living room. He had fallen down the stairs out of sheer tiredness and worry over the past few days. Maddie stopped working and ran over to her son, putting an arm around him and helping him over to the sofa. He groaned quietly. She looked at him, sitting on the sofa. "Danny, what happened?"

"Tripped down the stairs," he mumbled. He moved slightly to adjust his position and blinked, staring into his mom's eyes. "I, um… I have to tell you something, Mom."

She looked confused. "Okay?"

He took a deep breath, not knowing whether he would die from this or be in a coma for years to come.

"You know your old friend, Vlad Masters? That day that you guys were going to test the device in college, everything seemed to be perfect. You and Dad had the machine up and running, and Vlad was still looking at it when Dad hit the button. Vlad got the ecto-acne, and you hadn't seen him in twenty years. He, um, well…" He began to look very scared and flustered.

Jack frowned. "He what, Danny?"

He swallowed. "He became very evil and kind of, eh, _stole _from the companies you know today. Those business tycoons that he has… I think what I'm trying to say is, _he's a half-ghost."_ He looked absolutely terrified at the word he uttered. "He wants to _kill_ me, Mom. He doesn't think I'm worth anything but _dog food."_

Maddie looked confused. "Vlad, a half-ghost? That's one of the most absurd things I've ever heard of. But it could…"

DING-DONG.

'_SHIT,'_ Danny screamed in the back of his mind, getting next to the couch and out of view. 'I am so doomed.'

Sure enough, Vlad Masters stood at the doorway, smiling his billionaire smile, but with a strange glint in his eyes. "Why, Maddie, Jack," he greeted sweetly, licking his lips. "Is this a bad time?"

"Not at all!" Jack boomed, opening the door wider and allowing Vlad to step into the house. "We were just talking about you! Danny was telling us this great story that you were a half-ghost since college. Not that it's true, of course."

Vlad nodded and sat down on the sofa. "He comes by sometimes to the capital building. After all the stories I've told him about people half a ghost, half a human, he sometimes seems to act it." At this, he glanced over at Danny, giving him a strangely hateful, yet triumphant look. "Really, I'm surprised that he _wouldn't_ try and accuse me of being a half-ghost. I find it quite amusing, actually."

The three adults had a laugh there. "Actually, it's funny. I tell Daniel that he's a half-ghost, and he acts like it's the truth!" he continued, and the three smiled. "Just like that Danny Phantom ghost child."

"I want to study his remains when we catch him!" Maddie told Vlad.

He had a strange gleam in his eyes. "Maybe I'll catch him first for you."

Danny's mind went numb. _They didn't believe him._ Something told him that if he morphed right now and revealed Vlad's secret, he'd be planning a trip to hell in a coffin and die in hell. Oh, god, did Vlad seem to look happy, but the fact was, Danny could feel his aura of anger at the teen for even going to his parents about such a thing.

"You know, I wanted to know if Daniel could come to my house this weekend. We could spend some quality time together!" Vlad suggested, a hopeful look in his eyes like a child wishing for a toy he desperately longed for. "If that was all right with you, of course."

Maddie furrowed her brow. "Well, as long as Jack agrees to the whole thing…"

Jack nodded. "Sure! You and Danny can go watch the Packers for god knows how long! Then we can all go see next Sunday's game!"

Danny, rarely one for swearing, thought, _'Shit.'_

* * *

The doors shut behind the duo as they walked to the edge of the block and turned the corner away from the house. Finally out of sight, Vlad whirled around and pinned Danny to the wall, his eyes burning dangerously red. _"How dare you,"_ he whispered in a terrible voice. _"How dare you expose my secret to them."_

"Get over yourself," Danny snarled, smacking the hand away that pinned him. "You're an ass. Deal with it."

_"I'm _an ass?" Vlad laughed harshly, morphing into his ghost self, his pointed teeth showing in a lopsided grin. "We'll see about that, dear boy. You have officially made Vlad Plasmius your death sentence."

Danny became his ghost self as well, frowning and taking a battle stance. "My death sentence? You almost make it sound as if you want to kill me, Vlad."

"I do."

That stopped him dead in his thoughts. He looked at the bipolar half-ghost, confused. "So you really do want to…"

"Yes."

"And you're going to kill me."

Plasmius' hands glowed brightly. "Yes, Daniel. I am going to kill you. Not now, though." He raised an eyebrow. "That would be much too suspicious. Tomorrow, 3:30 PM. After school. In the park across from Casper High. Make sure you're alone." He turned his back on him, glancing over his shoulder. "_Make sure of it."_

He disappeared into the skies. Danny dropped to his knees. Vlad really did want to kill him. He was serious.

No one ever mistaken those eyes and lived to tell the tale.

Tears began to fall. He screamed in despair. Why was his life like a living hell?

* * *

**I want to go back into the closet… -crawls back into closet-**

_-shrugs- Great. When's he going to die?_

**-muffled- Um... that's a secret. Reviews are loved!**


	6. In Time

**Zephyr… we hit writer's block on this.**

_I know. Three stinking months. Three stinkin' months of a block- that's gotta be a record for us._

**Thanks for reviewing **MutantLover09, Devianta, NarutoxxAddict, Erin, ButtonsMagoo, babydragon11, Rya Starling, pearl84

* * *

6. In Time

Danny sat at the table, eyeing his steak and potatoes with great dislike. He felt full, despite his one or two picking of the mashed vegetables that he made into a volcano. All he could think about was 3:30 in the park tomorrow afternoon in the park… with Vlad Plasmius there for no apparent reason. A date with death seemed to make matters only worse. There was no way he could back out of this. Besides, it kind of was his fault. He had spat the truth in Plasmius' face, which recoiled like acid had been thrown on him. Chances were slim that Vlad could actually kill the boy- he never had the guts to do it before. Why make it so threatening now? In any case, wasn't he technically half dead in the first place?

"Danny, stop playing with your food and eat the volcano potato!"

Snapping out of his gaze, the teenager pushed away from the table. "I'm not really hungry, Mom," he replied wearily, getting up. "I'm just going to go upstairs for a while."

Maddie watched her son leave the table, a worried expression on her face. He had become so moody these past few days, and his accusation that Vlad was the Wisconsin Ghost was certainly an extreme. She knew the two weren't exactly best buddies, but it was evident that Danny clearly hated Vlad. Not to say she liked Vlad more than the next person. Those flirts he had with her got on her last nerve, but she blew them off all the same.

But Danny… something had happened with him. She didn't know what it was, but she wanted to know what. And fast.

* * *

The music wasn't blaring in his room. In fact, his iPod was on the softest setting it had been in a while. It didn't matter, though. Tears slowly began to roll down his face as he lay on the bed, arm hanging limply, feet nearly touching the floor. Danny couldn't think of anything but the words of the song and the purest expression of hate he had ever seen on Vlad's face.

_I can hear what you're thinking,  
All your doubts and fears,  
And if you look in my eyes, in time you'll find,  
The reason I'm here._

Blood red eyes, teeth bared into a sadistic grin, black hair that shone in the light of day and night- practically the leader of hell himself. Danny took a shuddering breath, thinking about those last few weeks. The unexpected kiss from the bachelor- never in his life had the teenager encountered something so forced. Then there was a break to his nose, and blood became his biggest problem.

Vlad never had anything to fight for, except to truly defeat the boy and take him as a son. In reality, he had never really beaten him in a fight. No wonder he was so mad all the time.

_And in time all things shall pass away,  
In time, you may come back someday.  
To live once more, or die once more,  
But in time, your time will be no more._

Danny laid there, his eyes wandering to the phone. It lay there, taunting him, as if whispering, _'He's going to call you, Danny. It's inevitable- the man will call you and laugh about how much of a fool you really are.'_ He shook his head at the thought, but the voice of Fate kept teasing him in the wispy voice it had, seemingly smirking in the dark. His time was coming tomorrow, and he was having steak and potatoes getting cold on the table out there. More tears ran down his face.

Thunder rumbled in the distance as he closed his eyes, trying to make the tears stop. Why was he so worried now about Vlad when he never was before? Maybe it was the look of malevolence he gave him on the opposite end of the house. Or was it?

_You know your days are numbered,  
Count them one by one,  
Like notches in the handle of an outlaw's gun.  
You can outrun the devil, if you try,  
But you'll never outrun the hands of time._

The phone rang quietly on Danny's bedside. His eyes flashed an emerald green in anger and hate. Slowly, he picked up the phone and answered it. "Hello?"

_"Daniel,"_ the snide voice on the other end chortled. _"How wonderful it is to hear you again. Such a shame it's the last time over the phone, though."_

Danny's eyes watered even more as he gripped the phone. "Can't you leave me alone?!" he cried out, bursting into tears. "Why?! Why are you making my life so damn difficult for me? Just leave me alone, Vlad! Leave me alone!"

Vlad's voice turned deadly over the other end. _"Difficult for you? How have I made life difficult for you? Daniel, things in life aren't meant to be easy. Only the strong survive, and if you can't deal with this pathetic little threat of death, then I have a hell of a lot more to teach you than just about death! Learn that I'm here for a reason!"_

"STOP IT!" the hybrid screamed like a child and threw the phone across the room. It smashed into the wall with a sickening crunch, and the line went dead.

_In time there surely, come a day  
In time all things shall pass away,  
In time you may come back some say.  
To live once more, or die once more,  
But in time, your time will be no more._

Danny sat there on the bed, taking deep shuddering breaths as Maddie slammed the door open. She stared at her son and at the phone in the corner. He sat there, eyes red and more tears falling down his cheeks. "Danny?"

"Mom!" he whispered, his voice suddenly hoarse.

She ran over to him on the bed and embraced him like a mother comforting a child with a nightmare. Danny simply broke down, crying like a teenager had just lost his mother in a murder or something to that effect. It was impossible for her to deny that something was wrong, but would he ever tell her? Maddie knew that now wasn't the time to ask… she just had to let her baby boy cry for no apparent reason.

And yet, there was a reason. He just couldn't tell her for fear of possibly getting a worse fate than death from his archenemy. Danny wanted to tell her everything… but it wasn't time. Not yet.

There wouldn't be another 'not yet' in his life.

_I can hear what you're thinking…_

Finally, a muffled voice was heard from Danny. "I love you, Mom."

She smiled and stroked his hair. "I love you, too, Danny."

* * *

**I listened to this song, and it totally gets the effect working for you.**

_It really does. I think I felt really depressed after all that... -is holding Mountain Dew- Happy thought, happy thoughts..._

**Much love for reading this new installment! Please review!**


	7. Breaking Point

**Oooooofff. We need to finish this. As much as I love torturing Danny in this fic, I think he's had enough. We are now on Chapter 7, and there are 13 chapters in this story, counting the epilogue.**

_Sadistic Vlad… -hands out pitchforks- Please use them on the guy. But not in this chapter._

**Thanks for reviewing **MutantLover09, dannyphantom92, Cj Sutton, DannyTimmygirl327, Hordak's Pupil, NarutoxxAddict, pearl84, Devianta, Skyheart92

* * *

7. Breaking Point

His head rested on one hand as he listened to the droning voice of Mr. Lancer and his speech about _The Pearl_. Frankly, he couldn't have cared less today if he got a detention or slept during class; so much for missing the thing in the park, so much the better. There was no way he was going to go meet Plasmius today. He never really wanted to meet him anyways. He was a pain in the ass. Even then, it was an understatement. He was so much more than that.

"_MR. FENTON!"_

The boy suddenly jerked up from his daydream, seeing Mr. Lancer give him a steely-eyed glare. "_The Return of the King! _I asked you a question, Mr. Fenton," he told him sternly, waving his book.

Danny blinked sleep from his eyes. "1957?"

The class roared with laughter as Mr. Lancer frowned and looked through the book. "No, I'm sorry, that's incorrect," he replied, marking one down for Danny. "The answer is greed and lust. I'd like for you to stay after class."

The teen's head hit the desk. Great. It was only a few hours before he was seemingly about to die, and his English teacher was probably going to ramble about how he should pay attention in class more often and stop sleeping. He laughed bitterly. It was the least he could do before seeing an archenemy for what might have been the final time.

No, Danny definitely knew he was going to be in the park after school today. He knew that Vlad was going to come up with some stupid way to get the boy there, even if it meant turning him intangible and having him faze underground. There was no way Lancer could keep him after school today.

The bell rang, signaling the end of the class. Everyone began babbling as Danny stayed in his chair. He saw Sam and Tucker's worried expressions and smiled a little. His eyes told them it was okay, and they both nodded. Tucker grabbed his things. "Dude, we'll be in the cafeteria, waiting for you," he told his friend, taking Sam's hand and dragging her along.

Danny heard her hollering, "I don't need to be shown the way, thank you!"

He sighed and got out of his seat, walking over to his English teacher's desk. Mr. Lancer stared at Danny from the other end with a peculiar gaze. It wasn't anger, but it wasn't happiness either. Danny tried to come up with a word… was it confusion? Lancer continued to stare at the boy as he spoke. "Mr. Fenton," he began, "can you please explain to me why you are constantly sleeping in my class, drooling on the desks, and making excuses on why you didn't do your homework?"

He shook his head, not responding verbally.

"I see." He glanced down at the grade book. "You seem to have a 73 percent in here right now. Better than last grading period, but not the best I think you can accomplish."

Danny squirmed. He hated these conversations with his teacher sometimes.

"Do you want to tell me what's wrong? You know I was a high school student at one point in life, too, you know. I might have a good idea of what is going on in your life."

The teen was so tempted to start yelling at his teacher. He didn't know everything. He hadn't become a half ghost at fourteen, he didn't have a girlfriend, he didn't have a tech-geek as a best pal. He did not have ghost hunting parents, he did not have failing grades… God, he didn't have an archenemy who wanted to kill him in less than… Danny looked at the clock. Less than three hours! He took a deep breath. "Mr. Lancer, you don't exactly know what I've been through," he replied, wording his statement carefully. "I don't think you know what's going to happen to me."

Lancer looked amused. "You act like today is your last day here on earth."

"Can I just_ please_ go to lunch now?!" he burst out, running to his desk and grabbing his things.

The teacher nodded reluctantly. Before he could get out another word, Danny bolted out and made a beeline for the lunchroom. Sighing, Lancer turned back to his book and flipped through the pages. Danny Fenton definitely was his most troubling student he ever had. Rare homework assignments, failing tests grades, sleeping in class… it made him wonder what the boy really was doing in his spare time.

Chuckling, he continued to read _The Pearl._ Wasn't like he was fighting ghosts like his parents…

* * *

The bag was dropped with a resounding THUD! on the floor as Danny collapsed into his seat at the table. Tucker glanced at him nervously. "What was that all about?"

"People making my life difficult." the boy replied, his head in his hands. "This is my entire fault. I can't believe I wrote that essay and that whole thing happened a few weeks ago. Now Vlad's going to kill me for it all."

Sam shrugged, taking a bite of her sandwich… with no meat. "When hasn't he tried to kill you?"

Danny stared at Sam. "No, I mean it. Literally."

"Dude, that's the biggest lie I've heard from you for a while," Tucker told him, cutting up his meatloaf. "He isn't going to really kill you… right?"

Both pairs of eyes gazed at Danny when he didn't speak. His head now rested on the table, and it sounded like sobs were breaking out. "I mean it!" he shouted, his voice muffled by the table that swallowed what he was trying to say. "Vlad's going to try and kill me in the park today!"

The Goth blinked. "Why?"

"That damn essay I told you guys about! It really happened, okay? That wasn't a fantasy!"

His friend raised his hands in alarm. "We get it. Just chill!"

"I CAN'T CHILL!" Danny suddenly screamed, causing heads to turn.

He wasn't hungry. He couldn't eat anything right now. His stomach had too many butterflies flipping their wings for him to do a thing about it. He stood up abruptly, grabbing his book bag. "Guys, I'm sorry, but if you see me in the park at 3:30 with Vlad, find Jazz and tell her to get there pronto. I don't give a _damn_ if Plasmius only wants to see me. You guys can watch me beat him to near-death. There is no way he's taking me down without a fight!"

"_Please_, Danny," Sam insisted, her eyes shining with tears. "_Don't _make it sound like you're going to die."

The ghost teen shook his head. "I won't. I know I won't. Don't wait for me in sixth period, guys. I'll already be at the park, waiting for _him."_

He walked out of the cafeteria, leaving an open mouthed Sam and Tucker in his wake. Sam turned to him. "Did you just see that?"

Tucker nodded. "I seriously wished I hadn't, though."

Sam stood up and tossed her tray into the garbage. "C'mon, Tucker. Whatever this is, Danny needs us. Let's go find Jazz."

"And fast. I dunno, but something is definitely up between Danny and Vlad today. I mean, _especially _today." Tucker took out his PDA. "I can find him and watch what he's doing by hacking into the camera on the light-post near the water fountain."

The girl looked skeptical. "And you know this because…"

Tucker gave her a quick glare. "Sam, I'm a techno-geek. It's in my nature."

* * *

**We can't go a whole fic without putting in Sam and Tucker. Otherwise, I think people will eat me- and my muse- inside and out.**

_The rant by Danny about him facing Vlad and not going down without a fight is in honor of _Devianta. _She spurred us to_ _do it after her touching review._

**It's time we finally told you what the meaning is behind the title of this story is. If any of you have watched the movie "Pokemon: The Movie 2000", you'll know that song that they play at the end of the movie… the one where Melody plays on her flute the so called "Lugia song." We originally had this title planned for the two-shot that inspired this, but it seemed more appropriate for this fic. If you have iTunes or something, look up "The Guardian's Song."**

_Yeah. You're getting it. I hope. Thanks for reading and please review! 6 chapters left!_


	8. Two Sides, One Story

**-sighs, stretching out fingers- Yet another chapter for you all, in the midst of the Danny-and-Vlad evilness I have going. Don't be sad that it's a few more chapters. This is where it begins to heat up! The next five chapters for you guys are going to be a blast to angst, tragedy, and ways to kill Vlad. I'll take up suggestions!**

_We passed 50 reviews! Oh, my god! THANK YOU ALL._

**Hey,** MutantLover09: **I'm using that flashback idea! Thanks for that!**

_Allusion to a picture by _FernClaw_ on DeviantART: Two Sides of the Same Coin (I think)_

**Thank you for reviewing **Hordak's Pupil, NarutoxxAddict, MutantLover09, pearl84, Devianta, Plushiemon

* * *

8. Two Sides, One Story

2:15 PM.

He smiled, throwing an ecto-blast at the wall in his mansion. Pieces of concrete flew from the wall as he charged up another one and threw it at the exact same spot. The hole grew larger with each charged up ghost ray as the billionaire waited for 3:30 to arrive. His black-gloved hand glowed darker with each blast into the wall, his eyes narrower, and his smile larger. Daniel Fenton wanted a taste of evil and malice, and he was going to get it. He had threatened him one too many times. And Vlad Masters was never threatened in his life.

Well, it wasn't exactly a threat. It was more along the lines of an insult. One terrible insult that ripped him to shreds.

His thoughts drifted back to yesterday's conversation as he fired another ray into the wall…

_...Flashback..._

_"I do to have a reason to live!" Danny screamed back._

_"I have something to protect! I have a way of life that exists for humans and ghosts alike! I love all humans, even if they despise me! I will keep everything safe from people and ghosts like you. I have a reason to live. You don't, Vlad! You never had! Face that fact!"_

_...Flash forward..._

Never had a reason to live? What was the boy talking about? The ghost ray came out sharper, faster. He'd have to let the rush of shooting these deadly ecto-blasts get the best of him in this battle. There would be no holding back this time around. He'd hit the boy with everything he had. He had sworn he would kill the boy, and he planned on keeping that promise. There were too many promises Vlad hadn't kept in his life.

He promised that this wouldn't be one of them.

2:22 PM.

* * *

2:23 PM.

He ducked into the locker area during lunch, glancing around nervously. No one had noticed the raven haired teenager become a white-haired, emerald-eyes ghost teen that was so infamous to Amity Park. He fazed through the roof, fear rushing through him and anger beginning to explode inside. He hadn't felt this angry when… well, when he first met Vlad, he guessed.

The skies were blue, the sun was out, and the birds were twittering, oblivious to the oncoming battle that was about to change people's lives forever. Danny soared over the school and stared down at it, trying to shake the tears from his eyes. How could he have been such an idiot to tell Vlad what he had said?

The first meeting with Plasmius flashed before him as he began a slow flight towards the park…

_...Flashback..._

_The caped ghost held his hands out in amusement, as if no challenge had been brought forth. "My vultures were supposed to bring the big idiot to me," he mocked, his voice vaguely familiar, "but **you'll** do!" He smirked at this remark. "Danny Phantom, **right?**"_

_The ghost teenager looked confused. "You… you know me?"_

_The man laughed as if he had told him a witty joke. "Of course I know you!" With this, he fazed through the wall._

_Danny blinked, following him through and entering a large library. The ghost floated in the center of the room, the evil smile still on his face. He pointed to Danny. "You're the ghost boy who uses his powers for **good!**" He made a face, as if he had just eaten something terrible. "Oh, how quaint."_

_Danny was beginning to get rather nervous. Was this another Technus, or was he seriously going to beat him to no end? His thoughts were interrupted when the ghost got into Danny's face. "Aren't you going to suck me into your ridiculous thermos?"_

_"I…" Danny stumbled for a decent comeback. "I don't wanna fight you!"_

_The ghost smiled maliciously. "No," he agreed. "No, you don't."_

_And suddenly, in a flash of light, the hand blasted the child with pink ecto-energy. He had never felt anything like this before- full of hate, malice…_

_...Flash forward..._

The first meeting he had with Vlad, Danny had no idea it would lead on to a full-scale war of wits, snide comebacks, and even reluctant team ups. But he never imagined this happening: Vlad completely losing what little sanity he had left in a jar and making it so he wouldn't have to ever fight again. He shook his head again, pushing himself forward to his doom.

Not his doom. Danny knew he was going to beat Vlad today, even if it took him all he had to take down his foe once and for all. There was no way he'd allow Vlad to win this contest, unlike two weeks ago in the rain. The kiss… he shuddered. It was forced.

Then again, everything about Vlad was forced.

* * *

2:45 PM.

The fist landed into the desk painfully. He winced, but he had learned to shake it off. But his anger was one thing that he couldn't shake off. It simply grew and grew like a mushroom… or a flower… or something less beautiful. Thorns on a rose bush. Yes, that'd work.

It was simple. Daniel was a thorn in his side- an annoyingly large thorn that you couldn't take out no matter how easy it seemed. The other fist landed harder into the wall beside him. 'Come on, Plasmius,' he commanded himself, wincing again. 'Build up your anger. Take it all out on young Daniel, and this pitiful charade of good and evil can be over in a heartbeat. Besides, you've only got forty more minutes, and you can get going to Amity Park's resting place for Danny Phantom.'

The name left a horrible taste in his mouth, despite the fact he thought it.

He punched the desk again. "Damn," he muttered, rubbing his knuckles.

2:51 PM.

* * *

2:52 PM.

He saw the grass of the park approaching, despite the fact he had been flying for nearly twenty minutes. He was getting tired. Slowly, he landed on the ground, taking in the sun and noises of the birds twittering their song. Oh, how Danny wished he could be free like them! The way they didn't have any worries except for food and shelter made the teen envy their simple way of life. He hovered slightly, running his fingers through his hair.

There were too many events for Danny to count as he stared at the tree of where he had been hit by Vlad. The thoughts burned as he remembered the words he wrote in his essay. They were so true, but in the end, it was his demise…

_...Danny's Point of View..._

_He threw me into a tree with enormous strength, and I hit my head against the trunk. Why didn't I faze through like I usually can? I was so stunned by the man's comeback; I didn't even have time to think. I got up and noticed the man on his feet- painfully on his feet, but he was there. He smiled, blood coming from his mouth. He made no attempt at wiping it away as it spat out of his mouth when he spoke. "You dare do that to me, the one man who actually cares about you? You DARE TRY AND DEFEAT ME?!"_

_"Well, the thought crossed my mind," I replied, standing up slowly. The tree must've done something to my back, because I was not feeling great at all. That was one serious blow to my body. I looked up and saw him licking his lips. Oh, god. Licking the blood off his lips. What was he, a vampire? "Besides, it never hurts to try."_

_He brought his foot up, where it connected with my right cheek, which was already swollen and tender. I screamed in agony and fell to the earth, mud spattering all over where I splashed down. I felt a blow to the stomach and cried out again. He picked me up by the neck and thrust me into the tree. I groaned, tears trickling down. "Had enough yet?" he growled, pulling his fist back._

_I didn't have an answer in context._

_I simply spat mud in his face._

_He closed his eyes and brought his fist as hard as he could into my face. I heard a crack, and then… pain roared through me like a tsunami. I screamed, crying suddenly, and began to struggle incessantly. "Get your… hands off me, you…"_

_...General point of view..._

He touched his nose slightly, wincing. After two weeks, it still hurt immensely. What could he do about it but simply allow it to heal? He'd make time for it to heal. He wasn't going to get defeated by Vlad. No way at all was he going to get beaten. The bachelor could've went and rotted in hell, for all he cared.

A ghost ray hit the tree, Danny's hand smoking emerald. What time was it?

3:00 PM.

* * *

3:01 PM.

He thought nasty thoughts, promised vengeance on the one he hated, planned his newest idea for gaining Maddie when Daniel was gone. He cracked his fingers, smiling sadistically, fangs showing once again. The time was drawing closer and closer. He was allowing the euphoria of the hatred for the boy run through his veins, the pain of being humiliated by a sixteen year old child take control. He laughed.

3:02 PM.

_...Time warp. Twenty-six minutes later…_

3:28 PM.

He spotted the boy in the park, floating aimlessly and staring at the burn mark at the tree. Plasmius gazed at him. 'Daniel, Daniel, Daniel,' he thought tauntingly, landing softly on the grass behind Danny. 'I hope you've said your goodbyes and finished your last thoughts, my boy,' he thought, cracking his fingers slightly. 'You'll never live to see the light of day again.'

With these last thoughts, Plasmius smiled as Danny turned around, hands on his hips, eyes shining angrily.

"Hello there, Daniel."

* * *

3:28 PM.

He let the wind rustle through his hair, the thoughts of victory over Vlad for the first time in ages come to light. In fact, it was probably the first time he had ever even beaten Vlad in a fight. He couldn't remember the last time he it had actually happened, if there was such a thing. He eyes shined bright with anger and frustration at the thought of Vlad trying to kill him.

Kill was a rather scary word to use, and Danny knew that Vlad couldn't possibly have the capacity to kill someone.

A pair of feet landed softly in the grass behind him. He turned around slowly and saw Plasmius smiling. His own eyes shined with anger and hatred as he placed his hands on his hips.

"Hello there, Daniel," Plasmius greeted him maliciously, teeth in a fanged grin.

And Danny had never felt more scared, angry, and ready in his whole life.

* * *

**Oh, no! It's here!**

_The eight chapters you've been waiting for have led up to these final chapters in our first tragic multi-chaptered fan fiction in this fandom! We'd love feedback on how this chapter went. And please don't pester us about the time lapse. It's for our own sanity._

**Mainly yours… Anyways, we love reviews, especially for this chapter! Thanks for reading.**


	9. One Last Dance

**Um… uh… -is at a _complete_ loss for the amount of reviews that flooded inbox- Wow. I mean, um… -composes herself- Right then! On to the next chapter. And if you hated the cliffhanger last time, you all are probably going to kill us for this one. -dances _again-_ We reached 75 reviews!**

_By the way, there's an allusion in here that relates to two things DP. One is a fanfic, the other is an actual episode!_

**Credit to **Dreaming-of-a-Nightmare **for using one of her quotes!**

**Thank you for the reviews: **Hordak's Pupil, FernClaw, Dreaming-of-a-Nightmare, Rya Starling, MoonlighUmbreon, Wishes for Wings, NarutoxxAddict, Plushiemon, Cj Sutton, DannyTimmygirl327, pearl84, AvatarKatara38, fentonfan, MutantLover09, Martiny, Devianta

* * *

9. One Last Dance

Even the birds had stopped twittering as the two combatants stared at one another, examining each other's features from head to toe. Danny could practically _see_the hate burning a hole in his head as he swallowed. He knew he could keep this face of anger up for long as he opened his mouth. "Look, Vlad," he told him, a sort of unknown force in his tone. "I know you want to beat the living crap out of me and everything, but isn't there some other way to settle this? Like a chess game or something?"

The half ghost billionaire smirked. "_Chess_, Daniel? Oh, you must be joking. I know I do chess and everything, but right now, I don't _feel_ like doing such a thing." His hand began to glow magenta. "I fear it's a bit late for me to be playing a man's sport."

With this, he sent a ghost ray at the teenager. It hit full force, sending the hero skidding in the grass. The dirt went flying and the grass going in opposite directions as his face met the ground. He slid back until he was eye level with the concrete. He winced slightly. It felt like it… like it actually _hurt._ Slowly, Danny stood up and stared at Vlad, whose fangs were formed into a strange sort of grin. He rubbed his chest. "What did… how…?"

"Oh, so it _did_ hurt," the bachelor replied lightly, examining his glove. "Well, that's a good thing. I would have been worried if it didn't."

Danny's mouth hung open slightly, a boiling rage beginning to fill his body. Vlad _wanted_ this to hurt? He _wanted_ to really kill him this time around? God, this was more insane than he had ever thought would happen between himself and his enemy. His hands flared emerald. "Listen, Plasmius. I didn't come all this way to be killed by you. I came here to fight you and prove that I'm better than you!"

With this, he thrust his hand forth, a beam of emerald energy flying towards his foe.

* * *

"Jazz! _WAIT!_"

The older Fenton turned around in surprise as Sam and Tucker ran to catch up with her. Both of them were out of breath, and Tucker was staring at his PDA. She looked at her brother's best friends, confused. "Hey, guys. What's going on?"

"It's Danny," Sam replied.

Jazz bit her lip. Anything involving her little brother caused her to suddenly go into overprotective sister mode. She hitched up her backpack slightly and blinked. "What do you mean, 'it's Danny'?"

Tucker merely gave her the PDA, which was now a viewing page for the lamp post in the park. She took it and gasped. Vlad was shooting ghost rays in the left direction of the screen. Although there was no volume, it was clear he was mouthing something to someone. A green beam hit him once, and he felt back a few feet. Jazz glanced at the friends. "Is that Danny and Vlad?"

"There's more," Sam continued grimly, tears beginning to cloud her vision. "Danny said to us that Vlad might try and kill him today."

The sister's head began to spin as she handed the PDA back to Tucker. "Kill? Vlad can't kill anything, but I bet he can harm something enough to make them feel like they want to be dead. He's sane enough to realize that, right?"

Tucker shrugged. "Danny threw a fit in the cafeteria today about his essay that he wrote and how Vlad threatened to kill him. I dunno, Jazz. There's some part of me that really wants to believe Danny and another part that wants to brush it off."

She looked at the duo, fear in her eyes. "What are we standing around here for? We have to make sure he's okay!"

"We're going to have to hide somewhere, though," Sam told her matter-of-factly. "Something tells me if Plasmius finds out we're watching, we're going to be worse than dead."

With this, the trio ran for the park as fast as they could. Granted, they still had their backpacks on, but still…

* * *

"Oh, come now, Daniel," he taunted, sweeping his cape back dramatically. "Surely, you can do better than that."

The boy panted slightly. "This is stupid! _You're _stupid!"

Plasmius' hand smoked again. "Pity. Wish to have one last dance before your death, m'boy?"

Danny began shaking. That was enough. His hands glowed, his teeth were clenched, and he was shaking like a leaf on a tree. "One last _dance?_" he whispered in a terrible voice. "_One last dance, _Plasmius? I'll give you one last dance! I'll give you one you'll never forget!"

Plasmius' hand beckoned him, his face gleeful.

A barrage of ghost rays rained down on the billionaire, Danny giving him almost everything he could have had. An icicle came flying from his hand, tearing through his outfit and drawing blood. Plasmius took the hits. 'I have to let him get cocky,' he thought coolly. 'Then I can unleash my rage on _him._'

Danny's fist suddenly came out of nowhere, connecting with Vlad's gut. The billionaire doubled over in pain, giving Danny an immense feeling of satisfaction. It was high time the man had some of his own medicine. However, something began to worry Danny: Vlad didn't seem to be fighting back. At all. He landed a swift kick under his feet, causing the man to trip over himself and go arm first into the dirt.

Plasmius growled softly. This was almost embarrassing. Danny cracked his fingers. "You said you were going to kill me, Vlad."

He clenched up. 'No,' he thought angrily. 'Human emotions… shining through… must… kill… Daniel…

'I _MUST KILL DANIEL!'_

"I thought you were really serious last night," he continued, standing over the man and stepping on his hand. "Why was I so worried? I know you don't have the capacity to kill somebody. All you are wanting is company, but you can't have it."

Plasmius started shaking. "You- you insolent…"

Danny flew up, hands alight. "I can beat you, Vlad! I'm going to be able to beat you because I have a purpose in life! I can protect the city from you!"

That… that _brat._ Plasmius clenched his teeth, hatred rushing through him.

"You've got nothing to live for! I bet your _cat _even hates you!" Danny laughed. In reality, he was actually very worried that something was going to happen within the next ninety seconds of his life. But he had to get Vlad riled. He could make a quick getaway from here and make it home. He laughed again, this time shakily. "Vlad Masters-Plasmius, mayor of this city… and yet you have everything you could ever want. You're still not happy!"

"You… _shut up!_" he screamed insanely as he leapt up for the boy. "I've _had_ it with you! You're a thorn in my side, and I'm going to make you wish you never said_any _of that! DO YOU HEAR ME?!"

Danny took a deep breath, suddenly screaming at the top of his lungs. The Ghost Wail came worth, pushing the man farther away from him to the ground. Plasmius yelled angrily, but his words couldn't be heard over the shrieks of a thousand banshees. He screamed as hard as he could. He couldn't let Vlad win. He_wouldn't_ let Vlad win.

Not in his lifetime.

He stopped, out of breath and floating over to Plasmius, who was groaning in the dirt. "Go home, Plasmius," he told him softly.

A hand shot out, grabbing the boy by the neck. Danny's eyes widened as he stared into Vlad's blood red ones, which were now full of anger and malice. "What home?" he whispered, lips curling upwards. "What home would I go to, Daniel?" He released the boy's neck. "Would I go to mine and be with cat… or yours and kill your father outright?"

"_NO!_" Danny shouted, throwing his fist with everything he had.

The hand connected with Vlad's jaw. There was a nasty _CRACK_ as the fist went all the way to the left. A roar of pain shot through Vlad like a hurricane, sending him flying backwards. He flew thirty feet away, landing on the concrete, his body nearly flopping like a rag doll on the ground.

Danny's breathing became ragged. He had just broken Vlad Plasmius' jaw. He stepped back, swallowing. He hadn't meant to do it- he was just so angry at the sadistic monster, he had lashed out with everything he had.

Plasmius got on his hands and knees, slowly getting to his feet. The inside of his mouth began bleeding as he gingerly touched the point where the punch had connected. Whatever humanity that was left had disappeared in the instant he looked at Danny. Slowly, he lifted his magenta hands in front of his chest, fists clenched. "You just made a big mistake," he whispered. "A _very _big mistake."

Danny stared at his eyes. There was a wildfire there, raging out of control.

Plasmius smiled. 'No human emotions,' he thought sinisterly. 'No emotions… only pain, anger… rage… hatred… I used to wonder if there would ever be forgiveness, Daniel. I wondered if you could forgive me, or I you. But I think, now, it's too late for any of that.'

He rushed forward with unthinkable speed, his hands alight.

Danny only uttered one word.

"Vlad?"

* * *

**Oh, man. We're killing you guys.**

_I'm killing myself. The next chapter is the one you've been waiting for. Well, I guess the one I've been waiting for._

**We'd love reviews for this chapter. We'd love a lot of reviews for this chapter. Look for an update next week! Thanks for reading.**


	10. Disaster

**Somehow, you guys got EXTREMELY lucky, and we felt like updating today. We were going to wait a flipping five more days to post this. But you guys were too kind in your reviews, so we're giving you all a present.**

_It's not a happy present, but it's definitely something I think you all have been waiting for. -glompage- 90 reviews! By the way... it is violent in this chapter. Very violent and has blood. Squeamish much? Then SKIP._

**Allusions for last chapter are two in one: Checkmate by** pearl84** and Reign Storm. The chess remark gets me every time. Didn't even notice the PP reference. Beautiful catch by **Devianta!

**Thanks so much reviewing to **Hordak's Pupil, MutantLover09, DannyTimmygirl327, Dreaming-of-a-Nightmare, miikkuli, NarutoxxAddict, Martiny, Wishes for Wings, Devianta, dannyphantom92, Rya Staling, MoonlightUmbreon, FernClaw

* * *

10. Disaster

The first thing Danny felt in a long time was fear. Fear for him. He couldn't have cared less for anybody in the world right now except for himself. The merciless look in Plasmius' eyes was enough to possibly make him wet himself. All he uttered was one word.

"Vlad?"

_Wham! _Vlad's fist connected with Danny's face, sending him flying backwards. Danny felt his head spinning as he crashed into the same tree he had broken his nose two weeks ago. With no time to react, he was suddenly being held by a Plasmius clone, his arms being stretched behind the tree. Danny yelled out in surprise and pain at the sound of his back cracking. The real Plasmius landed in front of him, his eyes staring into Danny's. He smiled viciously, blood dripping out of his mouth. "You don't think I care? That no one cares?"

He brought his fist into Danny's stomach. A scream was heard as the Plasmius clone tugged slightly on the boy's arms. "You _fool!_" he roared, bringing in his fist again. "I _swore_ I would kill you, Daniel! And I am _not _going to break that promise!"

_Wham._ The fist plunged in deeper this time, full of ecto-energy. _Wham._ And again. _Wham._ And again. Time and time again, within a span of five seconds, Plasmius managed to land in around ten punches to the boy's gut. Danny nearly couldn't breath. He made a choking noise, convulsing. "V…V-Vl…" He couldn't say anything.

The clone disappeared, allowing Danny to slump to the ground. His mind was completely numb at anything coming or already happening. He tried to swallow, but there was no moisture in his mouth to support such a task. He winced when he moved, staring down at the grass beneath his feet. Whoever said sadism was Vlad's middle name couldn't have been more right in their assumption. He moaned slightly. His stomach churned with pain and sadness. He couldn't feel a thing.

Plasmius grabbed him by the scruff of his hair. "Feeling any pain, Daniel?"

The boy simply blinked. Plasmius threw him into the air. Danny felt the wind rush through his hair, his scalp screaming for mercy from the hurt it was enduring.

He never saw the fist to the back coming. All he could feel was the pounding of Vlad's anger raining down on his body. The blow to the head nearly knocked him into an unconscious wave of dizziness as he tumbled over in the air. A yell of anger was heard, and he felt a swift kick to his right cheek.

Danny had a pretty good idea that he was about to die within a matter of three minutes if this kept up for much longer.

* * *

Hatred… blinding rage… fear…

It was only three of the things Plasmius felt as he continued to pummel the young hybrid hero with everything he ever had. He was the more superior being, so why was he being insulted by a mere child? So he was fifteen years old- it didn't make him a freakin' saint. He threw a ghost ray at the boy, its energy having a sharp edge to it. The blast collided with the boy's arm, and a scream escaped his lips.

His jaw screamed for medical attention as he winced. He had no idea that Daniel had the capacity to actually inflict bodily harm on him. But that was all going to change. No more would the boy simply be his pawn, his play toy for further use…

Oh, no. Now he had a definitive purpose.

To die.

He punched Danny right in the eye, sending a wave of satisfaction surging through him. Sure, he had beaten the boy and great number of times in his life, but this… this is so much different than before. He was enjoying this one-sided fight with the one whom he had once cared for. He landed a swift kick to the side of the stomach, sending the boy tumbling over once more. He tried not to move his mouth. "Are we having fun yet?"

Danny's blood-filled tears told him an angry no. He floated over without any effort and spat out what he could of the green blood in his mouth. It nearly made him scream out, but it was the best he could do to defy the sadistic bastard.

Plasmius wiped away the blood with a gloved hand, eyes shining. "I see."

He thrust out his fist, connecting with Danny's nose. A loud crack was heard, and blood began to gush out from the nose again. It dripped for a moment, and then it poured like a waterfall. Danny's hands slowly made up to his nose, doubling over in midair.

Vlad smirked. This was… fun.

He suddenly went berserk.

* * *

Danny had no idea what was more painful- his thoughts of venom towards Plasmius or the insane amount of pain rushing through his physical body.

It happened in a blur. He could feel Plasmius' fists slamming into his stomach, his face, and his private area, but he could no longer register the pain that came with it. It was simply impact after impact after impact. Danny dimly saw green blood spurting from his nose as another fist took him the wind clear out of him. A punch to the nose hit home once again, and he mumbled in pain. It seemed like too much effort to try and scream anymore. He wanted the pain, the agony, the impacts to go away. Blindingly, he tried to stretch his hand out, but a wave of unyielding agony blitzed through him. His eyes were closed, his body outstretched.

Another fist to the crouch. Danny's brain registered a sense of pain. Blood filled tears fell towards the ground, green with salt and sadness. Danny knew he wasn't going to be around for much longer. It seemed to have gone on for so long a time frame.

The actual time was now 3:36 PM.

'I've been tossed around like a rag doll for nearly three minutes,' he thought, smiling dimly as Plasmius screamed, throwing more fists into his body. He heard a rib crack and another snap, his arm falling limply to his side. Nothing seemed to hurt anymore to Danny. No more pain, no more suffering…

No more fear of this mad man, who was now officially classified under the category 'Worse than Dan Phantom.'

A final fist plunged into his stomach. Danny felt the wind rushing through his hair once more.

He was seeing Vlad following him, angels smiling...

He was falling.

Falling so many feet in less than seconds…

* * *

**-blinks and faints-**

_Oh, my god. Shining, you fainted. What the heck is this? And in those reviews... do us a favor and rant._

**-moaning-**


	11. Falling from the Heavens

**-still on the floor-**

_-kicks her into closet- She's so useless right now._

_**Amen to that. Anyways, I'm Shiny-sama, and I am your author's note woman for today. I can't believe this story is almost over. I'm your review replier, and I am happy to say that this has been one of my greatest joys to write and see your reactions to. And we toppled 100 reviews. **_pearl84, _**you have our gratitude, and we are forever indebted to you for that wondrous number. You've got**_ **_a LONG_** _**CHAPTER coming. Lucky you people.**_

_**Spoilers for **_Danny's Cry- Danny's opening and closing segments

_**Many dearest thanks for reviewing to **_Hordak's Pupil, Dannyphantom92, DannyTimmygirl327, FernClaw, fentonfan, Dreaming-of-a-Nightmare, MutantLover09, MoonlightUmbreon, pearl84, Devianta, NarutoxxAddict, Plushiemon, AvatarKatara38, Wishes for Wings, Martiny, Rya Starling

* * *

11. Falling from the Heavens

**Danny**

I was falling. Falling so many feet in less than seconds. Not only was I falling literally, but figuratively, too. My world was collapsing right on top of me, as if I was some sort of ghost about to hit the planet at full force. Which I was- a half-ghost, that is. As a breed of that relation, you'd think this wouldn't stop me from dying a miserable, painful, agonizingly long death of around five hundred feet.

Lies and more lies.

I'm Danny Phantom, and I am Amity Park's protector. I live every day to keep the citizens safe, keep the dream alive for a better tomorrow, and keep my identity a secret. There are days when I wish I wasn't a half-ghost, half-human. Those days pass quickly, though. I use my powers for those who need protection from they who are evil, sadistic, cruel, and everything in between.

None of them are as evil as the one I was facing now.

I know him by one name alone, but no one refers to him by that name. They don't even know he exists, and if they do, it's by pure accident or coincidence. Or it's one of the few people I will trust with my life and my secret. He's not one of them. This man is the one I would kill to keep my dream alive of staying who I am today. And no matter what he says, I will never be the son he wants me to be.

His name is Plasmius. Vlad Plasmius to be exact.

* * *

**No one**

The trio finally dropped their book bags on the ground, running towards the park. Tucker's PDA was out as he moved the camera with the stylus. He stopped for a moment, blinking. "I don't see them anywhere," he told them worriedly.

Sam began to run towards the park again, her heart plummeting down to her shoes. If Tucker couldn't find Danny or Vlad using the only camera in the park, chances were pretty good that they were fighting somewhere more remote. Sam hated that word _remote._ She hated thinking about Danny being alone and dying, like he said might happen. She shook her head, taking a slow breath. "Keep looking!"

**Sam**

All that time I was running to the park, I kept thinking that Danny would still be alive and well. He would be fighting Vlad to the bitter end. I'd have to make sure of that. I slipped on my Fenton Headset, yelling into it as I ran. "Danny! Danny!"

No response. I growled, trying to change the frequency. Tucker had made it easier to listen for anything that could have Danny's voice in it, but it's hard to say whether or not it worked. I turned the tuner slightly. "Danny! Damnit, Danny, come on!"

Still nothing. I took off the headset and urged my legs to move faster. The closer I got to the park, the worse I felt. I'm not sure if it's dehydration or what, but I could feel my head spinning intensely. Jazz and Tucker were yelling things in my direction, but it isn't safe to say what it was. I just wanted to reach Danny.

I just wanted to reach the one person I really cared about in my life.

**Jazz**

I didn't know that Sam could run that fast when she really wanted to. Don't get me wrong, I was worried, too. After all, he is my brother.

But I think we share something more now.

Siblings tend to have a bond that's unknown to the human heart. It amazes me that no one can seem to recognize that I love my little brother with all my heart. And not just because he's the superhero of Amity Park. No, I think it's something so much more than that. I think I look up to him for his heroic acts to the city and the fact that he can balance schoolwork, ghost fighting, and that raving lunatic of a mayor.

My feet were pounding the dirt as we entered the park, searching for any signs of Danny. I glanced around and finally turned my gaze towards the skies. My voice caught in my throat. It couldn't be. It just… _couldn't_ be.

Danny was falling from the skies, his limp body now arched, and back barreling towards the ground. His hands were towards the skies, limply wriggling.

I opened my mouth, nothing but gasps escaping me. Danny was falling…

**Vlad**

I crossed my arms. The boy had deserved what I did to him. He was much too powerful to be kept alive. More powerful than _myself_. I hate it when people- or half ghosts- decide to try and become better than me, whether it is for the better or worse. He's a pain to begin with. All that incessant babbling about me being the ultimate evil besides this other… being, I guess. Told me about this _Dan_ fellow who is worse than me.

Worse than me? That must be bad.

But if he was _that _bad, wouldn't he have already killed Daniel by now?

He was annoying. Yes, that was the word I was searching for. Daniel was _exceedingly_ annoying. I smirked in his direction. He's eyes were sill full of tears, blood slipping of the cuts on his face. He wanted mercy for his life. But I was not feeling merciful. I hated him with a passion. He was fifty feet away from the ground.

There was no way I could save him. I wouldn't save him. He needed to learn what I had gone through- the pain of this curse of being a half ghost. I wanted him to hurt, to cry out in pain.

I smiled. I would not save him from his fate.

**Tucker**

I found Danny as my feet hit the grass, glasses slipping off my nose slightly.

Actually, I didn't find him. I saw him falling from the air.

I'll just get this out: I have never dropped my PDA in my entire life. _Never._ And yet, I couldn't help but skid in the grass and stare at the horrifying event unfolding before my fifteen year old eyes. Danny's suit was ripped to shreds, his arm limply flailing as his body hurtled towards the ground. Plasmius was floating some one hundred feet up, glaring at Danny with those hate-filled eyes he always gives us.

I really had no idea what to do. Actually, I kind of did.

"Danny!" I screamed. "Danny, c'mon! Get up!"

**Danny**

I tried to blink the tears out of my eyes, but they just kept streaming out like a river. And with the fact my _blood_ was now mixing with it… can you please just say_ew_ for me? Really. I've never actually had that happen to me, but I guess there's a first time for everything. Although I really didn't plan on falling to my death because of a certain unnamed _fruit loop_ who decided to kill me.

But when I heard Tucker's voice, it kind of stirred something within me. I'm not kidding. My hands glowed slightly, and I tried to fire a ghost ray at Plasmius. It worked, but it barely even nicked him. Kinda melted to goop on his arm. He brushed it away, glaring at me with disgust. "Fool," he seemed to mouth. "You've_lost._"

Me, lose? Now that was the first time Vlad had spoken the truth. I really had kind of lost. Look at me. I'm hurtling towards the Earth at probably sixty miles on hour, twenty-five feet away from hitting solid concrete. Now don't you tell that I _haven't_ lost. I'm about to die!

I think.

**Jazz**

He was _dead._ If that fall from the skies didn't kill him, I definitely would. What the _hell_ was he thinking? Going off to see Vlad to supposedly have a _death match_with him? Could he get any stupider? _AT ALL?!_

I retract my former statement about Vlad not having the capacity to kill someone. From what I heard about Danny's essay from Sam and Tucker, I think it's definitely safe to say that Vlad had more than a few feathers ruffled. Danny rattled more than his cage with that essay… he must have fried a few brain cells and murdered his heart to write something like that. I don't blame Vlad for being upset, but…

Killing my brother is taking it _much_ too far. I stood there, hand over my mouth in shock. "Danny," I whispered fearfully. "You've got to get up. _Please _get up. Fight Vlad! I know you can!"

My voice was now rising to a scream.

"Danny Fenton! You stop falling this instant and you _fight that bastard! DO YOU HEAR ME?!"_

I know he can't hear me, though. It's like talking to a brick wall. The law of science prevails in this fight as his body comes hurtling towards the ground. He can't hear me at all. His body is still pummeling towards the ground.

I can't stop my own brother from falling. I can't stop my tears from falling down my face.

**Vlad**

Oh, god. The infamous other musketeers are here to witness Daniel's downfall.

That only means more pain for them and more thrill rush for me.

Ah. That gives me a nice idea. Calculating the trajectory of Daniel's body from where he was now (twenty-five feet away) to the ground, I should be able to reach him within a matter of… I'd say perhaps twelve seconds. I can bring him back and beat him mercilessly once again. There was still plenty of hatred left within me, and I was willing to dish out more hurt against the young boy.

No one would hurt him but…

But…

Jasmine.

I stopped, thinking for a moment. Jasmine was just like my sister, Kelsey. She could be a bit of a pain, but honestly, she meant well. She died around five years ago.

Maybe I could let her see him one last time before he died.

No. Best let her watch for herself.

Still…

**Tucker**

What _else_ was I supposed to do?! God, he was falling to fast for any of us to do anything about it. I really don't think he's going to cheat death outta this one, though.

No, I mean it. Don't get me wrong, Danny's been in a lot of hard places before.

This one, though…

It just doesn't seem possible.

Jazz looks about ready to kill someone, and Sam…

Well, I don't know. She's simply standing there with this horrified look on her face, gaping at Danny's descent.

Someone wake me up from this… anyone…

**Sam**

He's less than twelve feet away from the ground, and Plasmius is speeding towards him like nothing I've ever seen before. His hands are out, as if he's trying to reach for him and strangle him. If he doesn't reach Danny in time, I'm going to have to strangle _him._ I mean it. Plasmius has done enough, if not too much, damage for one day.

I can't take it anymore.

I ran to where Danny was falling. Tears blurred my vision as I made a beeline for what could have been my last chance to see my best friend. I swallowed, took a deep breath and screamed, "_I LOVE YOU!"_

There. I said it. I love Danny Fenton.

He's five feet away now, his hands still flailing wildly. Plasmius is around ten feet away.

This isn't happening. Please say this isn't happening.

**No one**

Tucker tripped over himself, rushing to Sam. "Wait!" he yelled. "Sam, what're you doing!?"

The Goth was oblivious to the techno-geek's voice as she stood there, hands up against her heart, screaming at the top of her lungs. Jazz followed suit, now sobbing. Her own brother, victim to possibly the cruelest man in the world. What happened? What signs had she missed? Was she a failure as a sister?

Plasmius' own shout of "_DANIEL!"_ could be heard as he sped faster and faster towards the boy. His hands were stretched out as far as they could reach as he tried to grab Danny's flailing hand.

Danny closed his eyes, smiling slightly to himself.

One second…

There was a bone-shattering _CRACK _as the boy's limp figure slammed into the concrete. A small indent was made in the ground, blood now pooling out. He stayed there, his arms sprawled out, the blood from his nose flowing down his cheeks. He simply lay there, not moving for a moment before making a soft moan.

**Danny**

And as I crash to the concrete, my back crunching, head spinning and heart stopped, I think about my duty to the city.

And I know I have failed.

* * *

**_Um… do you know how HARD this chapter was to write? -shudders- Characters… ugh. SO HARD TO WRITE… and that was my first time doing it. You suck at forcing these things upon me._**

_What she's trying to say is two things:_

_1. Fan art. She's been meaning to ask for quite a number of chapters, but she never quite got around to asking. Shiny-sama would ADORE fan art for this. One person is already doing a piece: Dreaming-of-a-Nightmare. –glomp-_

_2. REVIEW! RANT AND REVIEW! I can't tell you how many times we've glomped people for this._

_So… please. Consider the above, and review. Thanks for reading… 2 chappies left!_

_**PS: **_Rya Starling**_ made a good point about something: I have an idea for a one-shot sequel in mind. Who wants that?_**


	12. Nevermore

**_-heavy sighing is heard- Shining woke up in someone's review._**

_Hush. It's time to work the penultimate chapter of our magic. Why did Danny die? See author's note at bottom for explanation._

_**WARNINGS:**_ F-bomb once. Oops.

**Right then. –nods- Thanks for reviewing **Hordak's Pupil, Dreaming-of-a-Nightmare, FernClaw, Hidden Page, Plushiemon, Wishes for Wings, MoonlightUmbreon, NarutoxxAddict, MutantLover09, bluexisxcool, Rya Starling, AvatarKatara38, DaxLP, DannyTimmygirl327, KittyGrl24, pearl84, Miriam1, Devianta, fentonfan

* * *

12. Nevermore

Four people stood crowded around Danny, three of them leaning over his broken body with tears in their eyes. He simply lay there, moaning quietly, but never moving. Sam gently picked up Danny's right hand, squeezing it softly. Tears ran down her face, her lips moving. "Danny, if you can hear me, please squeeze my hand. _Please._"

There was a very small squeeze of Sam's hand, but it was barely felt. Jazz leaned over Danny and felt his neck. "There's almost no…"

Two white rings of light split down the half ghost's body, revealing a bloodied, bruised and beaten Danny Fenton in his place. His hair was completely messed up, his nose dripping red blood. His arm was still limply at his side, despite Sam's hand interlinked with his. Tucker stared at him. "God, man. You've really screwed yourself up this time."

There was a very small chuckle from his throat, but it soon erupted into a cough- one that spewed blood into the air. The trio backed away from him slightly, Sam accidentally bumping into Plasmius. She turned around, anger evident in her features. "You… you…"

He made no movement, his eyes coldly staring into her lavender ones. "I did what I had to do, Samantha."

"You did _nothing!"_ she screamed angrily. "You did _nothing!_ You've screwed up everyone's life now, Vlad! What do you have to say to that?"

Plasmius snorted, shrugging his shoulders. "I never said I wouldn't ever kill him, my dear. He was a pain as it is."

"_You fucking bastard!"_ Sam tried to punch the male in the face when Tucker grabbed her by the arm, holding her back. "You're dead. You hear me? You're going to wish you were dead!"

Jazz heard none of this going on. She simply held Danny's hand, sobbing silently. "Danny," she muttered, bringing his hand close to her heart. "What did he do to you? What happened? Why did he do this?"

Danny's hand seemed to freeze over. Jazz opened her eyes, putting a finger to his neck once again. There was no pulse.

Tucker let go of Sam, seeing the look of horror on his friend's face. His own face morphed into one of shock, sadness, and hatred. "No way," he whispered. "No. No!"

Jazz merely looked at Tucker. "He's gone."

Sam sagged to the ground, her hands covering her face. She couldn't take it anymore. She wanted so much to die, right then and there. She wanted to go with Danny. She had loved him. She still loved him. It didn't matter if she was still in love with a dead teenager who had saved her life more times than she could count. She just wanted to know if he was okay, safe… in a better place.

Tucker swallowed. "What are we going to do?"

The sister stared at Danny's body and turned to where Plasmius was…

He was gone. Jazz kicked herself. 'Damnit,' she thought angrily, gripping her dead brother's hand. 'He's gone. That sick fruit loop is gone. I can't believe I let him get away. I can't believe _any_ of us let him get away.'

"Jazz?"

Tucker's strained voice came into her ears as she stared at her brother's peaceful face. She bit her lip, tears still flowing down her face. "I'll go get Mom and Dad. Tell 'em what happened. What happens from there, I can't be sure of."

Sam's voice was shaking. "What are you going to be able to tell them?"

"The truth," she replied simply, a flame of anger in her eyes. "The Wisconsin Ghost killed him." She stood up, looking at Sam and Tucker and nodding. "I need you two to stay here with the body. That way, if Plasmius comes back, you can fend him off." She tossed Sam the Fenton Sabre. "Use this if you have to."

Sam nodded fervently, Tucker now leaning over the body. The girl ran off in silence as Danny's two best friends he ever had guard his body with everything they had.

* * *

His cape flapped in the wind soundlessly, his eyes staring at the sun setting slightly. It was only 3:48, and he couldn't help but wonder to himself if he would ever be forgiven for the misdeed he had just committed. He crossed his arms, his blood red eyes scanning for any sign of activity. Nothing happened- quiet as a tomb. He chuckled darkly to himself. "Quiet as a tomb," he muttered. "How ironic is that?"

His side screamed out in pain, but he ignored the begging for medical attention in the back of his mind. The blood slowly dripped out of his wound, staining the white outfit. He had grass stains, other blood, scruff marks… he sighed. None of it seemed to compare to what he was feeling right now. He scratched his cheek needlessly. It was… strange. He would no longer be seeing Daniel for the rest of his life.

He had killed him.

A voice softly spoke in the back of his head. "_You're going to regret this decision for the rest of your life."_

He pushed it away. He wouldn't regret it. At least now he was going to be able to take Maddie for himself… as long as he could get past Jasmine's anger and possible identity exposure. That wouldn't be too hard, though. She wasn't that much of a threat. Plasmius swallowed, shaking his head. He was beginning to feel lightheaded.

Why?

* * *

The sheet went over his body as the group of kids stared at the medical examiner solemnly loading up Danny's body into the car. Sam dried her eyes again before bursting out into silent sobs. Maddie was being embraced by Jack, whose eyes were simply wide with shock. Jazz embraced Jack. "Dad?"

"Jazz?"

She had never heard her father sound so heavy before. Her voice shook again. "I… I…"

Jack scooped up his daughter into his arm. "You miss him, Jazz."

She nodded, her face buried into her father's torso. Jack hugged the two even tighter. Maddie couldn't bring herself to look at the body being taken away to the morgue. She clutched Jack's suit tears pouring down her face. "How? How could he have died? He was such a…"

Jazz shook her head. "Mom."

She broke down once again. Jack's face had tears slowly trickling down. "I can't believe it. He's gone. Gone…"

The little family poured out their emotions as Sam and Tucker stood by a tree and watched noiselessly. Tucker's hand was on a tree for support. He clutched his stomach. "I can't take it anymore, Sam," he finally burst out, crouching. "I can't take it! Why'd he have to die?!"

"He didn't die willingly," she replied, her voice unusually harsh. "He was murdered."

He rubbed his head. "I don't care. He wasn't ready to die."

Sam blinked. "Tucker?"

"Sam, Danny saved a lot of lives these past few years when he was a half ghost. Now you're saying that he was only around to become someone's first tool of death and destruction? He didn't die on accident. He died trying to save a lot of lives. He saved people- but did he really save Amity Park from doom with Plasmius?"

She broke down again. "W_hy?_ _Why_ did he have to die? What point was there in killing Danny?!"

Tucker had no answer. He pulled himself up slightly and embraced the Goth. Sam didn't pull away.

* * *

Plasmius doubled over on the capital building's rooftop, feeling sick to his stomach. He was _not _feeling very happy with the fact that the slight amount of blood loss was equating to the fact that he was feeling sick to his stomach.

He'd have to call Maddie and Jack, asking about funeral arrangements to try and look like he cared…

In reality, he wasn't sure if he was beginning to care or not.

Seconds later, he threw up.

* * *

**That was a crap cliffhanger, Zephyr.**

_I know. There's one chapter left. Aftermath of everything. This has been quite the angst story. And the reason Danny died..._

_MoonlightUmbreon PMed me the perfect legitimate reason: If his ghost side has tons of damage done to it, it would  
also effect Danny's human side. And because his Phantom side is much stronger, his human one would much sooner die before his ghost one would destabilize_.

**For the record, it doesn't destabilize. It simply departs from his body. So Phantom still exists... as a pure ghost, though.**

_**Reviewer awards are next chapter, as well as thanks. Hey, listen.**_ **_Take out the spaces, and it's a fanart link by Dreaming-of-a-Nightmare. Reviews are glomped. Thanks for reading._**

**_http/ : poetic- kitsune. deviantart. com/ art/ One-Last-Dance-Before-I-Die -75005392_**


	13. Epilogue: The Guardian's Song

**OH MY GOD! THIS IS THE LAST CHAPTER! Long Author's Note at the bottom, too. Crud…**

**_Calm down. Thanks for reviewing _**MoonlightUmbreon, Wishes for Wings, miikkuli, Taylor phantom, FernClaw, MutantLover09, NarutoxxAddict, Devianta, Hordak's Pupil, Phantom Shade, Dreaming-of-a-Nightmare, DannyTimmyGirl327, KittyGrl24, pearl84, bluexisxcool, Plushiemon, DaxLP, Rya Starling, PhantomInvader, JH24, Girl of the Graveyard

**There's not a lot of Vlad in this chapter. More like Sam, Tucker, and Jazz. The Vlad-ness is in the sequels.**

* * *

13. Epilogue: The Guardian's Song

The whole room was silent. Maddie's eyes were red as the casket was brought down the hall slowly, a song playing in the background slowly. It was quiet, seemingly respecting Danny's wishes. It was hard to say what was worse in the trio's eyes- the fact that Maddie and Jack were with each other, not knowing the truth that their friend was murdered by their old college pal… or Vlad looking as mournful as he could.

It sickened Sam to no end that Vlad had volunteered to supervise the entire event. She couldn't believe her best friend's killer was trying to show on the outside that he had some remorse. Ever since that day that they had taken away Danny's body, she had an eerie desire to go to the Mayor's office and beat him senselessly with the Fenton Anti-Creep Stick.

Tucker watched her face turn in Vlad's direction. He squeezed her arm slightly, forcing her to stare back at the front of the church. "Stay calm, Sam," he whispered, swallowing. "We know he did it. This isn't the right time, though."

"You showed them the feed, didn't you?!" she hissed.

He winced at the stinging tone her voice portrayed. "Obviously, I showed them the feed. But we can't tell them that Vlad actually killed him. I told them that the_Wisconsin Ghost _killed him, but not Vlad Masters. I couldn't catch him in mid-morph. He's too smart for that, Sam. You should know that!"

"Guys," Jazz suddenly moaned. "He's staring at us!"

Tucker shut up, but Sam merely glared in the bachelor's direction pointedly. Vlad's eyes flashed red, but she didn't budge. Her eyes brimmed with angry tears as she turned back to the front of the room.

The priest began solemnly a long speech about how Danny's life had been taken from him in the worst way possible- murder. The room seemed to have a stunned aura about them as they listened to the man's speech about how his life was ahead of him… so full and ready for him to be taken with open arms.

Jazz merely stared at the ground in her seat, counting tiles and glancing up every now and then and checking out what Vlad was doing. The man was sitting in his seat with a forlorn look on his face, his lips curling slightly. She felt a wave of anger pass through her, but allowed it to pass. Shifting in her seat slightly, she moved closer to her parents and Tucker, nudging Sam to follow suit. The Goth glanced at her confusedly, but did it all the same.

Vlad's eyes twitched slightly.

The priest looked down at his Bible and mumbled some words to himself before looking up at the audience. "And now, we have some final words to give to Danny Fenton. First up is Tucker Foley."

Tucker bit his lip. Jazz nudged him. "Go," she whispered. "We're all behind you."

Nodding, he stood up and walked up to the podium, feeling sweat come down his neck. He stood behind it and stared at his paper. 'This is for Danny!' he thought.

He could've sworn he felt another presence in the room as he began to read aloud.

"We would hang around each other for days on end and play video games. He'd win sometimes, but I knew all the tricks on how to beat a certain boss or something. He just hacked away at the monsters. If you're wondering who I'm talking about, I mean my best friend, Danny Fenton. He's a guy who could really understand you if you got to know him. We had our squabbles, sure, but we'd make up after a while.

"Being in a family full of ghost hunters can be hard for a sixteen year old already at the bottom of the popularity pyramid. I should know. That's kind of how we became friends in first grade. He loved video games while the other guys liked football and crap like that. They seemed to kind of grow up. I guess we didn't. High school's hard, but when you're a ghost hunter like you parents, it's even harder.

"Yeah, Danny hunted ghosts. He hunted them a lot. It's how he made his mark in Amity Park. None of you saw him though- he couldn't stand that thought of someone seeing him fighting ghosts. It'd make him feel lower than he already did.

"I miss him a lot. I'm not going to be able to talk about guy things with him anymore- like girls or math homework. Or English for that matter."

There was a ripple effect of chuckles. Mr. Lancer smiled slightly.

"So, I wanna say this. I miss you, Danny. I always will, man. Have a great life in heaven.

"Tucker Foley… or TF. As in, 'Too Fine.'"

He made his way to his seat, the clapping intermixing with his feelings of sadness. His tears leaked down his face as he made his way back to Jazz and Sam. The priest looked around. "Next up is Jasmine Fenton."

Jazz stared down at her seat, getting up slowly. This wasn't going to be easy.

But when she felt a hand on her shoulder guiding her to the front, she smiled. He was there.

She took a deep breath and began to read:

"I had a brother. He had raven colored hair, sky blue eyes, and a sort of brooding tendency when his older sister was around. If you know these traits, you know that I'm talking about my younger brother, Danny Fenton. He was killed by a ghost- the one thing my parents swore they would hunt.

"But now I can't help but think about what they've done to help and hurt Danny's life. Like Tucker said, he hunted ghosts when he could- when no one could see him. It helped him keep the city safe, but it also led to his own demise. Danny was murdered brutally by the Wisconsin Ghost- a being that I have learned to hate with every fiber of my being.

"But that's not why I'm here.

"Danny was such a wonderful brother. He tried his hardest at everything he ever did, and yet it didn't seem like enough. He'd go all out in Math, but he couldn't get anything. English wasn't really his strong subject, but it helped him in the way of learning how to balance his life as a ghost hunter and as a student. Two jobs and one of them doesn't even pay money.

"He was psychologically a complex person. No one could ever really read on his face what he was thinking. Even if they tried, more than likely they were wrong. Danny could tell people what was wrong if they had only given him a chance. That's why he came to me when it was too personal to tell anyone else. He could trust me and his friends. It seemed like I was the only family member he could trust with his life.

"Maybe I didn't do a good job with that part."

Jazz wiped her eyes.

"I know he's here in spirit. I can feel him here. His song resonates in my mind…"

Silence.

"I miss you, Danny.

"Good-bye, little brother. And thanks."

The clapping was louder this time around as Jazz walked back to her seat, looking slightly ill. After all, Vlad's eyes were red the whole time.

"Sam Manson."

The Goth merely stood up and walked over to the podium. She had a small slip of paper. Looking down at it, she read:

_"Roses are red  
Violets are blue  
I know that you're Gothic,  
But can you love me, too?"_

She blinked tears from her eyes.

"Danny wrote this poem to me last year. Sure, we were a couple of outcasts, but we were outcasts together. We fit in together. People called us a couple, but it isn't really true. We weren't a couple.

"I wish we were now.

"I love Danny. I still love him, even as he lies in this casket next to me, victim of a murder no one was able to prevent. I miss him. I miss his laugh. I miss his scent of deodorant he put on every day. YES, I smelled that stuff. And I miss the fact that we'd go ghost-hunting together. I'd hold the Fenton Thermos, he'd fight it and then he'd suck it in." She chuckled. "Annoying ghost number one was _definitely_ the Box Ghost."

That got some laughs.

She looked down at the wood surface of the podium.

"I miss Danny. I know I always will.

"And I love him."

* * *

The cemetery was now empty, the last of the dirt being filled into the hole. Sam's fingers twiddled with a dozen flowers. They weren't of any specific variety- simply a dozen memories of her and Danny. She stared at the marble-slab tombstone that Vlad had custom ordered, a horrible taste in her mouth:

_Here lies Daniel James Fenton  
April 17, 1991January 21, 2007  
Gone but not forgotten  
Loved and cherished as a teenager  
"Quote the Raven, 'Nevermore'"_

She laid the flowers on the top of the grave, her hand coming over her left arm. She missed him terribly.

Quietly, she stood there, pensively.

"Danny, I love you. So much."

Sam tilted a rose petal upward slightly as she leaned over the grave. She got up and turned away, the breeze blowing her hair.

* * *

**Before you all shoot me… I'd like to thank those who have reviewed, **_faved, _**and -**alerted- **this story:**

**_-NarutoxxAddict-_**, -**_animegurl088-, _LG,_ -Devianta-, -_purrbaby101-, soring angle_, -Cj Sutton-, _fentonfan, ButtonsMagoo, pearl84, authoroftherose, JH24, _MutantLover09_,_ Tomed Cat, _Elvenangler17,_ -crocgirl2815-, -_dannyphantom92-,_ -babydragon11-, -Dreaming-of-a-Nightmare-, _Erin,_ -Rya Starling-, -DannyTimmygirl327-, Hordak's Pupil, -Skyheart92-, _Plushiemon, FernClaw, -MoonlightUmbreon-_, -Wishes for Wings-, -_AvatarKatara38_-, -Martiny-,- miikkuli-, -_Hidden Page-_, bluexisxcool, -_DaxLP-, KittyGrl24, Miriam1, -Taylor phantom-, Phantom Shade, PhantomInvader_, Girl of the Graveyard_**_, 67dp, PsychicPenguinShadowFireMario, Rocky Douglas' Gurl, Starhunterz, WolfChibi-Chan, iluvlucy7, kskittles, unforgiven666, -_Damian1384-, -Data-Dog-, -Nylah-, -Pterodactyl-, -Windstorm1-, -caffeinatedlackey-, -i-live-4-MLB-, -it's-not-amoose323-, -livinglife-, -sarapottercullen-, -stormseaker-

_-Much later on, two hours later…-_

_-falls on the floor- I'm now going to proceed in crying my eyes out. I can't believe we're finished with this fic. Somebody put me in the ground with Danny._

**We aren't done yet. We've got some awards to hand out. Zephyr, Shiny-sama?**

**_Right then. I'll start. First, I'd like to congratulate _**Devianta **_with the 'Review Every Chapter' Award. Despite all odds, through thick and thin, and presenting her muses, this fellow reader and reviewer has pointed out our wrongdoings and showed us what happened in the eyes of an emotional reader. She faved it, reviewed it, alerted it, and has been with it since 'Danny's Cry.' For this… a one-shot in your honor for the collection "One Word is Worth a Thousand!"_**

**Next up, an award to **pearl84 **and her, um… helpful muse. She gets the 'Inspirational Reader and Reviewer' Award. Coming into this fic halfway near the end and giving us a review for every chapter, this woman and her muse –smiles and waves slightly- have bolstered our confidence for this fic 110 percent. Not to mention they've become the beta for one of our fics… for you, a one shot of your picking for our collection, "One Word is Worth A Thousand!"**

_My turn. I'd like to give _Dreaming-of-a-Nightmare _the 'Fanart Award.' Somehow, she managed to conjure a wonderful piece of work on DeviantART, making our day so awesome and ranting in her chapter reviews. How the heck did that work out? Anyways, sweet work. We glomp you and give you a one-shot in your honor as well!_

**_My turn again? YAY! _**FernClaw **_gets the 'Argue with the Muse' Award for having arguments with her muse, Fern, in her reviews. It was quite entertaining to read these and listen to FC rant at the same time. And yet, she got her point across that it was indeed a tragic story. One-shot in your honor, ma'am!_**

**_And to me… _**MoonlightUmbreon **_gets the 'Fainted Muse, Mother, and Author' Award. He says he never faints in his reviews unless the story is extremely good. I made him faint… twice! ONE-SHOT!_**

**To **MutantLover09…** The 'In Denial of Death' Award. It said character death, and she nearly convinced me to make it not a death. NEARLY. But I stayed true to my word and kept it angsty with a touch of death. ONE-SHOT!**

_I've got one more. The 'Lurker' Award. I know she hasn't reviewed this story, but she did put it on alert, and I assume she's been reading it. _Nylah, _I hope to god you're reading these right now. Because you get this award. I'm going to PM you for your one-shot challenge, 'kay?_

_**This is such a long AN.**_

**I'm done. I need a shower.**

_I'm finished. Shiny-sama, take us home and let me go sleep. Tell 'em about the sequels. –snoring is heard moments later-_

_**Right then. We've got two one-shot sequels coming out. One of them is nice, but it's angsty and depressing. It's five years after Danny's dead, but Vlad goes to visit his grave. Words hurt more than physical wounds. Enough said. The other is much more grisly and angsty. Basically, if you hated the fact that Vlad didn't get any justice whatsoever in this fic, that's what it is. Danny delivers justice… in a not-so-nice manner. We've got more angst headed your way, so fear not. **__**Thanks for reading and putting up with us. Thanks for reviewing. Enjoy your stay here, and be on the lookout! You never know when another angst story from us will appear on the front page!**_

**_Much Love,  
_Shining**_, Zephyr_**, _Shiny-sama_**


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